Crossdresser
by lucksthegame
Summary: Aoi Hyoudou is known as a crossdresser. He insists on being treated like a girl, but is never listened to or accepted. When he meets a girl he can finally relate to, a lot of stuff that no one would of even imagined happened. Aoi finally finds the comfort she had been searching for, for so long.
1. Chapter 1

For Aoi, it was just another normal day. He was dressed up in his normal dress with his wig covering his not so favoured hair.

He was at Maid Latte with everyone else, still begging to be allowed out in a maid uniform.

Although he was constantly criticized for his taste of clothing, he felt that this was his nature. He like dresses and everything cute. He felt as if he was born into a wrong body and should have been born as a girl.

He longed to be accepted as a girl and allowed to wear girl clothes at any time he saw fit. He deeply wished to stay a girl for his life and didn't want to ever change back.

He held a grudge against girls who didn't use their femininity as he believed they should. He thought they should embrace it and use it to their own advantage.

This was why he particularly disliked Misaki. She was a girl, yet she barely cared for it. He envied girls and wished he was one, yet there was Misaki who was ungrateful for her blessing.

He yearned to be a girl and treated like one, but he sadly couldn't always obtain this gift. He tried everything he could, but even his family didn't accept him. This depressed him greatly.

If his family wouldn't even support him, then how could he expect anyone else to?

Family was supposed to support you, but if they didn't, did that mean that it was pointless to hope that anyone else would?

This question bothered him to no end.

Was he expecting too much? Was he never going to be fully accepted? Was he bound to be a freak forever?

He couldn't ever seem to escape these thoughts. They haunted him to no end. And even when people were okay with him, they never understood what he was going through. They didn't know what it felt like. No one did.

He sighed and stood up from his chair. It was no use getting depressed over something that was already so obvious.

"Satsuki, can I _please _work in the store?" He pleaded.

"How many times have I told you? No! The uniforms are only for workers at Maid Latte."

"But if I helped out as a waitress, than technically I would be a worker!"

"Why are you so eager?"

"I already told you. I want to show off my cuteness in that outfit!"

"No. You're too young and remember that your parents don't like it when you dress like that. They are already stubborn with letting you wear girl clothes, but anything too extravagant is over the line."

He sat back down, slumped back and crossed his arms. "I don't understand why they can't just get over it already."

Satsuki placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Well, for some people, it's hard for them to understand how you feel and accept that their little boy wants to become a girl."

He aggressively shrugged off his shoulder. "I'm _not_ a little boy! Why don't they get it! I want to be a girl!"

He abruptly stood up and left the room reserved for the workers. He was furious that again it was coming back to this. That no one would understand.

He stopped in the middle of the hallway and slammed his fist against the wall. That was when he first felt the drops of salty water slipping down his cheeks.

He slid down the wall, until he finally made contact wit the floor. The minute he touched it, he crumpled into a ball.

He just sat there, sobbing and rocking himself. He hated the other people for making him like this and ruining his dress.

He felt a hand on his back and immediately scurried away from it.

A few meters away, he saw Misaki with her arm outstretched and a worried look upon her face.

He sniffed. "What do you want?"

"I-I was just worried that you were so upset."

"Hah! As if someone actually cares about me."

Misaki's brow furrowed. "What do you mean? Of course I do! What's wrong?"

He wiped his face and quickly stood up, dusting off the imaginary dirt off the back of his dress. "As if I'd tell you. You just wouldn't understand." He began to walk away.

Misaki stood up after him and called out to him. "Hey! Aoi!"

He started to run, lifting up his dress an inch, as not to get it dirty or trip.

"Aoi! Hey! Wait!"

But he didn't stop. He just kept running.

And not once did he look back.


	2. Chapter 2

Aoi ran out of the building, swiftly avoiding everyone else on the street. He needed to get away from everyone. He couldn't let people see him like this. Especially because he was dressed as Aoi the internet idol. He couldn't tarnish his reputation like that.

He successfully made it past everyone and into a deserted alley. There he finally sat down and let it all out, still being careful to not make to much noise.

He clamped a hand over his mouth, muffling the sound of his cries.

He waited for the sad feeling to leave and just sat there until he was not able to produce anymore tears.

When he was satisfied, he finally got up from his previous position and sucked in a deep breath. He closed his eyes, mentally preparing himself to wander back into the view of the public.

He exited the alley and decided to make his way back home.

That was until he got pulled aside.

In front of him was three tall, muscular teenagers.

"Oh, look! If it isn't internet idol Aoi-chan!" The guy in the middle proclaimed. He was quite obviously the leader.

Aoi backed away. These guys didn't look friendly. They looked gang members of a sort.

They were dark skinned, with tattoos and ragged clothing. They didn't look like the kind of people that you would like to mess with.

The main guy looked back at his friends. "What do you you say we have a little fun?"

"U-uh I... have to go home now. So I'll be leaving." He replied, trying to back up, but finding himself cornered in between the guys and a wall.

"I don't think so. Isn't Aoi-chan known for her innocence?" He smiled back at his friends. "I say we take it away from her."

_Take away my innocence? _Aoi's eyes widened in realization.

_They still think I'm a girl! I can't let this happen. Not only would _that _happen, but the secret that Aoi-chan is actually the other gender would be spilt!_

"U-uh, I-I..."

Aoi was getting quite nervous now. He couldn't do this. Of course they wouldn't go through with it once they figured out his true gender, but he would also be left nude in an alley. And he didn't know what they would do to him when they found out.

_Would they leave me alone? Would they throw me out on the street naked and expose me like that? What would they do?_

"Don't even try escaping. There's no where for you to run. Haven't you noticed what part of town we're in."

Aoi tried to see what was at the end of the alley.

Outside of the alley, everything looked quite dull. Everything was either painted in boring colours or they used to be bright, but had faded over time.

In front of the one shop that he could see was some broken wood boards.

While he was running away, he didn't even think about where he was running to. Without even noticing, he had entered the bad side of this town.

He cursed inwardly. _There's no where to go. I don't even know how to get back to the cafe._

The three guys were just about to restrain him, when they heard a voice coming from the end of the alley.

"Hey! You three! Leave her alone!"

Everyone looked towards the alley's entrance.

Standing in the opening was a boy.

_What is he doing? He looks about my age, not to mention that he doesn't look threatening at all. He's not muscular or even tall. He's actually quite short. How does he plan on getting them to back off?_

"Why don't you guys get lost and leave her alone."

"Why should we?" A follower asked.

"Because it's not right. You can't possibly think it's alright to go around, violating ladies and their rights. It's disgraceful to your family names. How I do not envy your mothers." The boy had an aura of superiority around him.

"Don't you talk about my mother!" The three seemed to be getting upset. The two were clenching their fists that were already around Aoi's arms.

"Then release her."

"Why should I do anything you say, brat?"

He sighed. "Why must you ask so many questions. Besides if you do not know such obvious answers, then I'm afraid you truly are quite dense."

The leader frowned. "What does that mean?"

The boy then did something that shocked all of them.

He burst out laughing. Just laughing. Non stop.

They were all surprised and rather scared.

_Is this boy mentally sane? He seems smart, but he is challenging these guys and not a second ago did he burst out laughing for no apparent reason._

The boy clutched his stomach and finally started settling down.

"Ahhh." He sighed. "Sorry, sorry. Just sometimes the lack of one's intelligence can be quite amusing."

"Oh, so now you're calling me stupid!?"

"I thought that much was obvious."

"Do you know who you're messing with, brat?" He snarled.

"Or rather, do you know who you're messing with?"

He snorted. "I am Fujitaka Yamamoto, leader of the gang The Wild Beasts!"

_I knew he was part of some gang._

"I am Tomo Saito, heir to the Saito family."

Their eyes all widened in shock.

"The S-Saito family heir?" He nodded in verification.

They all bowed.

"I-I am truly sorry Mr. Saito. We did not mean to cause any trouble for you."

He waved his hand nonchalantly.

"Yes, yes. Just do please leave. I find your presences rather... irritating."

And with that, they released Aoi and ran away, tripping over each other to leave, as they were now fully aware of who the person they were disrespecting a minute ago was.

_Tomo Saito?_

Aoi watched as the boy who had just saved him, stepped out of the shadows, revealing their appearance.

The boy wasaverage height with dark brown hair. He had bright blue eyes and pale skin. He was wearing a suit and tie.

_His clothes are quite weird, but I suppose if he is the Saito family heir, then he probably needs to look formal at almost all times. He's rather handsome though. But he looks kind of familiar._

Aoi shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"_You're _Tomo Saito?"

"Yes. Is there something wrong with that?"

"No, no. Of course not. I'm just surprised that someone of your importance would be so..."

"Kind?"

"Well no, I didn't mean it like that." He tried.

"No it's alright, I understand. There is quite a few people of a high status that are quite unfair and cold. It's completely understandable that you would unconsciously think that."

He cautiously approached Aoi. "You know, we do look quite similar, if you think about it."

_That must have been why he looked so familiar._

He reached out and touched a strand of his hair. "Accept for the colour this wig makes your hair look like. It makes you look blonde, but you're obviously not."

Aoi was taken aback.

_He knew this was a wig?_

"W-What? How?"

"You can't fool me. I am known for my keen eyes. Ever since the first time I saw you on the internet, I knew that you were actually a boy."

He spluttered. "W-What!? You know that too!"

"Of course. Just by your movements and natural habits, it was easy to decipher what your secret was."

"But, you can't tell anyone!" He spoke hurriedly, trying to hide the surprise that his secret was so easily discovered.

"Calm down. I know that you obviously don't want anyone to know. Besides, if I ratted you out, then I would be a hypocrite."

He frowned. "What do you mean?"

"I'll tell you a little secret." He leaned in close and whispered into his ear. "I'm a girl."

Aoi froze in shock.

_She's a girl? Someone else in the high society is a cross dresser wishing to be the other gender?_

_Does this mean what I think it does?_

_I'm not alone anymore._


	3. Chapter 3

Aoi started at her in shock.

"A-Are you serious?"

"Do I not look it?"

Aoi felt a sudden joy spread through him and tightly wrapped his arms around her. He was smiling almost maniacally.

Tomo was surprised and had to take a step back to regain her balance.

"U-Uh, Aoi?"

"Oh. Sorry." Aoi blushed and finally let her go. "It's just good to know that I'm not the only one. It's especially reassuring that you're also in the high society."

"Yes I, guess it is good to have someone you can relate to."

"But I must thank you for saving me back there."

"Oh, it's no big deal. If I see something like that going on anywhere and don't do anything about it, then I might as well be committing the crime myself."

Aoi thought about that.

"Yeah, I... guess you're right. I've never thought about it that way."

"Yes well, I don't have much time to think about things like that anymore. My mother and father have been dragging me around everywhere. As you can see from my attire, I have just been working. My father likes it when I go to these kinds of meetings."

The people were potential business associates. My father made me go because these people were young ladies and no one knows I am actually a girl. He makes me go so that I can charm the ladies into working with us under his conditions.

Apparently whenever I arrive, the girls become nervous and can't think as properly. This makes it easier for my father to manipulate them into agreeing with our terms. This is something that I do not enjoy doing, but my parents insist upon it."

"Wow. I can't help, but feel sorry for you."

"Well you're lucky. At least you like playing with other people's emotions. I know that you try to make boys fall at your feet. But I do not like doing that to people. In fact, I try to avoid letting people take a liking to me. But my parents make me act all kind so they can control people in a way. They like to use their feelings against them. I do not favour their methods."

"Yeah, I guess I can understand you in a way. But why don't you like people having crushes and falling in love with you?"

"Unlike you, I don't want people lining up at my feet. I do not wish for power or holds over anyone. If I have that, I would feel manipulative. I don't want that not at all." She shook her head and then abruptly turned back to look at Aoi. "You, yourself have experience with this too. Flirting with the same gender. But the only difference is that you enjoy it. Why?"

"Well, I guess I like to see people willing to do stuff for me on their own wills. I'm not really accepted, so even if I have to lie to get acceptance, I'll take it."

"Yeah, my parents weren't exactly thrilled with the idea, but once they learned it could help them gain the two things they crave most; money and power, then they were all for it.

I can't imagine all the hostility I would gain if my secret leaked out. No doubt, I would be shunned. The only problems my mother has with it is that she wishes to have a daughter to gossip with and go dress shopping with. Too bad for her, I find those things down right boring. Not to mention that she is having trouble with finding me a suitable fiance."

"Fiance!?"

_I didn't think they were would set things like this up while they were still so young!_

"Yes they do still arrange these marriages. My mother is very eager to find someone, but is at a bit of a dilemma.

It is necessary that I do get married and create at least one child to be the next heir. But here's the problem. I can't exactly marry a guy. The public still thinks I am male and therefore would assume that I was gay. Either that, or we would reveal my true gender and as I said be shunned. The family name would be tarnished.

And if I did marry a girl, the whole family would have to be willing to keep our secret and then we would have the heir problem. Besides, if that happened, I would have to be turned gay. So, it's either become gay or look gay. Be shunned or be even more unhappy. My mother is of course leaning towards a girl, but the problem is finding a family that we know will not tell anyone."

"That _is _quite a problem."

"Yes indeed. But I still do prefer boys. I assume it's just like how you prefer girls."

"Yeah. I can't help, but again feel bad for you. It's like you will lose either way."

"It's because I will. Our family is well known, that means a lot of people will be curious to hear who I'm going to be marrying. Odds are that within three days, most of Japan will end up finding out."

"I guess it would be hard. Surely your mother is not pleased with this ordeal."

"Ha! Of course not! Whenever the subject comes up, she goes into her thinking mode and just stands there, looking at a wall for hours. No matter what we do, she only comes out of her thinking when she is done."

Aoi laughed. "Sorry, I'm just imaging a grown woman staring at a wall, seeming brainless, but actually thinking the entire time."

"Yes, I do suppose that would be funny. But the reason it takes so long is that she scans through every person willing to marry me. Of course they're all girls and it's not like it's hard to find one that would be willing. Because of my apparent looks, charm, money and status, it's not hard to believe that they would be lining up.

A lot of families are leaving their daughters closest to my age free, just in case that I would choose them. Everyone wants to boost their family's name up to a higher status.

But my mother is very particular. She thinks that the girl needs to be good looking, as that is necessary for support from other families. Her family needs to be also well known, as they can't drag our status down. They need to be quite rich, as to support the household. They need to be polite and all that stuff, so that again, they don't bring down our status. And they need to be trusted that they will not share the secret with anyone. Not to mention that they will need accept me."

Aoi's eyes and mouth were all widely opened.

"Wow." He breathed. "Those are some pretty high standards."

"Yes, mother always gets stuck on that last one. If we told them and then they turned out to be untrustworthy, then they could easily blackmail us and or ruin our name. It's truly a huge problem.

Usually these arrangements are made when we are toddlers, but my mother can't seem to come to a conclusion. Even at a young age I was just like a boy and told them that I wanted to become one. They were shocked, but eventually came to a kind of understanding. My mother was just about to try to start a deal with some families, but when they caught wind of that, they immediately changed anything that proved I was a girl.

Luckily I had not been shown to the public's eyes yet. My parents used their connections to their advantage. They went so far as to even get a fake birth certificate. All of our servants had not seen me yet either. My parents thought I was too young that my immune system had not been fully built yet. That if I was to come in contact with anyone other than them, that I would become sick. They are a bit over protective.

To be honest, you along with my parents are the only ones that know of my condition. Not even my grandparents know."

"Seriously?"

_Not even her grandparents know, but yet, I do?_

"Yeah. They aren't very accepting of anyone. When they first meet someone, they have to judge them on every single thing. Make one mistake, and they'll start to dislike you. My parents and I are just afraid that even I'm their 'grandson' that they will disapprove of me. They might even go so far as to even ruin their own family name."

"Are you for real? Who actually wants to cause embarrassment for not only themselves, but their family too?"

"They are quite particular about what they like."

"Yeah, just a little."

She laughed.

"There is this one family though. They are deadly persistent. I'm afraid their daughter has fallen in love with me. That family will stop at nothing to convince me into marrying her.

They stop by our estate for no apparent reason and then they ambush me. Their daughter literally jumps on to me and does not let go of my arm until they leave. They always give me an abnormal amount of gifts, as if to buy my marriage.

Her mother always tries to persuade my mother into making the deal, but they do not know about me. I'm not quite sure what the daughter would do if they found out. Nothing good could come out of that.

She is such a hassle, but I am forced to continuously charm her, as our fathers are in a business deal of a sort. I must keep her happy, while pushing her away.

She always tries stuff on me, but of course I always make excuses. She insists that I am playing hard to get. I honestly have no idea what is wrong with her." She shook her head for extra emphasis.

"Oh, I'm so sorry! I have a habit of unloading on people. It happens quite frequently. I'm sure you were bored to death, but just to polite to say anything."

Aoi shook his head. "No. Actually, I find all this interesting. It's almost as if I am getting a glimpse into your thoughts. Besides, I want to be a girl right? To me, this is better than gossip."

They both laughed.

"But I am still sorry. I have a talent for ranting. I honestly have no idea what all those girls see in me. Who wants to marry a ranter?"

"I can see what they are so interested in." The words just slipped out of Aoi's mouth before he could stop them.

"I-I mean, not only are you in a good position and that would automatically shift over to them as well, but you do make an attractive boy. Besides, you are great for a decent conversation. You definitely keep

your partner quite entertained."

She squinted her eyes at him. "I'm going to take that as a complement."

They once again broke into laughter.

"Master Saito! Master Saito!" The heard a voice calling from the end of the alley.

"Oh where did that boy run off to this time?" The voice muttered.

They saw a man in a suit approach the alley and peer into it.

As soon as he saw the two, he headed strait for Tomo.

"Master Saito! There you are! I have been looking for you for over an hour. What on earth have you been doing? You know that you're mother hates it when you just leave unannounced. She is getting quite impatient."

"I am sorry Franklin. I was just chatting with my new acquaintance. She has turned out to be quite good company."

Aoi blushed.

"Very well. But we must get going immediately."

"Aoi?" Tomo turned back to him.

"Yes?"

"Would you care to join us for dinner this evening? It would be an apology for my constant ranting."

_She really does know how to charm people._

"Well, I probably should get going home..."

"Please. I would be honoured if you would." She bowed and kissed his hand.

Aoi blushed again.

_She's better than I thought._

"I guess so..."

"Then it is settled. Franklin, please show us back to the limousine."

_Limousine? I am really not prepared for this._

"Very well Master Saito."

The man led them through the streets and back to a shiny black limousine.

Aoi was nervous.

_Is his mother in there? What is she like? Will she approve of me?_

The man opened the door and motioned for them to get inside.

Tomo went in first and Aoi followed.

As soon as he entered, he noticed there was a woman at the other side.

"Hello, Mother. I hope I didn't worry you too much."

"Of course not. You always do manage to return."

The woman was dressed in a high end suit and looked very similar to Tomo. She had long blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

_She is gorgeous. How does anyone even compare when standing in the same room?_

"Who is this you have with you?" she asked.

Aoi blushed at the sudden attention.

_I don't think I have ever blushed this much in my life._

"Mother, this is Aoi Hyoudou."

"Hyoudou you say? Aren't you that girl from the internet? I have heard there is quite the buzz about it going on."

"Yes that's me."

"Hyoudou... Are you the next heir to the Hyoudou family?"

He nodded.

She laughed and clapped. "Splendid! That family is known by a lot off people. Of course most of that fame is because of you."

"Thank you."

She turned back towards her son. "My, my, Tomo. I knew you had keen eyes, but this is spectacular! How ever did you manage to pick her out?"

"Well, it wasn't exactly luck mother. I met her in an alley. There was three teenagers planning to do indecent things to her. Of course I had to stop them."

"Tomo, you have really managed to impress me. Saving an innocent little girl from those types of things. My son! A saviour at the mere age of fourteen! That is truly amazing.

Just wait till the girls in my tea club hear about this. No doubt they will pass this information on and it will continue on from there. This will be great. I am betting that you will gain some new admirers and girls even more eager than from before.

Not is she any girl, but the famous Aoi Hyoudou! This will boost up our name even more. Good work son!"

"This isn't exactly a good thing Mother."

"Of course it is! Now the word will get out that Tomo Saito, the well known heir of the Saito family is now protecting Aoi Hyoudou! Not only will your and all of our names become even more famous, but I think that Aoi will be left alone." She faced Aoi.

"I am telling you, you watch as the views to your website increase by at _least_ two fold. Anyone that knows Tomo will search for who you are and anyone that knows you will search for Tomo. We'll all become even more well know and gain more admirers. It's a complete win, win, win, situation.

You just have to watch out for people suddenly trying to get close to you. Tomo is quite well known, as I said before. Once people find out that you know Tomo, they'll try to get close to you, hoping that one day they might be able to meet him. Especially the girls. Tomo is very popular in that category."

Tomo sighed. "Mother, I know you are just trying to make her jealous, but you can stop. She already knows my secret."

His mother was shocked. "What!?" she screeched. "You can't just go around telling people that information! What if she was to tell someone! We would be destroyed! Our whole reputation, down the drain." she seethed. "Why did you tell her this, Tomo?"

Tomo looked at Aoi, hesitant as to what his answer would be. "I know she won't."

"How?"

Tomo was just about to respond, when Aoi butted in.

"Because in return, he knows one of my secrets."

She whipped her neck towards Aoi.

"Then what is it? Huh? Your secret? Is it equivalent to Tomo's? Let me know so that I can judge it myself."

"It's none of your business mother."

Aoi took a deep breath in and closed her eyes, preparing herself.

"The secret is that I'm the same as her."

"What? You mean that you're a girl? I knew that alr-"

"No. I am a boy."

Her mother just sat there, shocked. She blinked a few times before leaning back in her seat.

Tomo sighed. "This, is her thinking mode."

Aoi studied the woman. She seemed to be in a different dimension.

Everything was silent until her mother snapped out of her thinking and smiled widely.

She jumped at the other side of the limo and attacked Aoi in a hug.

"YES! YES! Finally! I found you!"

"U-uh... Mrs?"

"You!" She pulled back and held him at arms length, examining him. "You're perfect!"

"Uh... excuse me? What am I perfect for?"

"Marrying Tomo of course!"

Over in her seat, Tomo spluttered.

Aoi's eyes widened.

"Excuse me!?"

"You are pretty, famous, rich, Tomo seems to like you, and I know you won't tell her secret to anyone! Perfect! All I have to do is get in touch with your parents and convince them! I could not have been more lucky!"

"Mother!" Tomo was still recovering. "Do I not get any say in this?"

"No, of course not! The perfect opportunity has shown up right in front of you and you want to ignore it? Besides, would you rather marry Kokoa?"

"No! Of course not!"

"Then you shall marry him."

"Fine." She turned to Aoi. "What about you Aoi? You okay with this?"

Aoi once again blushed.

"Uh-I guess."

_What am I saying? I'm accepting getting married at fourteen! But she is good looking... What am I thinking!? Get your heads out of the clouds Aoi!_

"See! He's perfectly fine with it. Things could not have gone better! In public you two will become the opposite gender and behind the scenes, you will become your normal gender. This could work... You will be a completely normal couple. The only problem is when Tomo becomes pregnant...

The two blushed.

"Mother! You cannot simply say things like that!"

"We will have to keep Tomo inside, hidden from everyone except family. We can make Aoi go out in public with a fake stomach, buying baby items with me. That would make it all more realistic. Of course with the family aspect, we can not include the grandparents..."

She paused for a second and looked back at Aoi.

"First we will have to get Tomo's grandparents to approve of you. This will not be easy, but I can personal teach you proper etiquette. This will work. It has too..."

"Uh... Mother? We're still here you know."

"Right, right. Sorry about that. I just got really excited! I can't wait to plan the wedding!"

"Mother! Even if this does work out and her parents accept, and my grandparents approve, we still can not get married for another four years."

She seemed a little less giddy at this.

"I know that! It will be a long wait, but I will still begin planning as soon as possible. Everything must be perfect."

"Mother. Please calm down. You are actually beginning to scare me."

"Sorry."

She looked at them expectantly. They looked over at each other nervously.

"What?" asked Tomo.

"Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Get closer together and hold hands. I want to see how you look as a couple."

The blushed, but reluctantly move closer and held hands, all the while, avoiding the other's gaze.

She squealed. "You two look so cute! Wait till everyone hears about this!"

"Mother, remember, you still have to get her parent's permission."

"Yes, I know."

The door to their right opened. "Mistresses and Master, we have arrived."

"Thank you Franklin."

"You're welcome, Mistress Saito."

They all exited the limo.

"_This _is where you live?"

Aoi gaped at the spacious mansion before him.

_I was right. I am _not _ready for this._


	4. Chapter 4

"Th-This is your mansion!?"

"Yeah, my mother likes big and extravagant things."

Her mother responded. "Of course you would know that Tomo! What's the point of having something, if you're not going to show it off and brag about it?"

Tomo gave Aoi an apologetic look.

The butler lead the three of them to the oversized doors.

Aoi gaped at the size.

"Why are they so big?" He asked in amaze.

Her mother chuckled. "Oh, Aoi." She sighed. "You truly are clueless. You must know that if you want attention, you have to give them something to notice. You have to be different, make them know that you are not average. That's what keeps them coming back for more."

Aoi nodded, still slightly confused, but now more understanding.

Franklin pressed a button on the side of the building and spoke into a speaker.

While he was doing that, Aoi took the time to marvel at the whole estate.

He saw that the limousine was parked in a circle driveway, that would be easy to use for quick transportation.

To enter the driveway, you had to get past wide, iron gates that were protected by many security features. There was not five meters of gate that was not being watched by cameras.

In the middle of the driveway was a fountain of baby angels spurting out water.

_Aren't those angels called 'cherubs'? Yeah, I think so._

Surrounding the house was a wide variety of flowers and other exotic plants. It was a colourful assortment of shrubbery and wild flowers.

Aoi gawked.

_This place is so beautiful. How can Tomo brush it off like it's nothing?_

Aoi quickly brought his attention back to the doors, as he heard clicking and creaking coming from that direction.

The doors swung inwardly and they entered the mansion.

Inside was everything of the highest prices.

There was crystal chandeliers, bright bouquets, shining floors and brilliant pieces of art.

The floors shined so much that when Aoi looked down, he could see his own reflection.

_I knew that this family was well known and rich, but this is just ridiculous. So far, I have already seen at least six workers rushing past!_

_Not to mention that this place is huge! How do they not get lost in a place like this?_

Another man in a suit advanced towards them, along with a woman.

"May I take your jacket, Master Saito?"

"Yes, thank you Charles." Tomo replied, letting the man pull her jacket off, so that she now just wore her tie and her dress shirt.

She rolled up her sleeves, still talking with the man.

"We have just returned from the meeting with Ladies Hizuki and Hidemi. Please notify my father this."

"As you wish, Master Saito. Dinner will be ready in five minutes."

"Thank you Charles. We will start making our way there now."

The butler nodded and turned to climb up the tall steps.

Tomo faced Aoi.

"Come on, we better start towards the dining hall now or we might not make it in time."

"What do you mean? We still have five minutes."

"The mansion is rather big. It takes a while to get there."

_Five minutes to get to the dining room? It takes me just one._

Her mother leaned in towards Aoi and whispered in her ear.

"Just look how gentlemanly and polite my son is! You should be ecstatic to have the chance of marrying him!"

Aoi turned a bright red.

_Son? Why are we back to this pretence? Nobody is around._

As if to answer his question, her mother nudged him and pointed towards an opening in the wall. On the frame, there was a miniscule, black object.

To the common eye, it would not be seen, but when pointed out, it was obvious.

To most they would think it was a bug. But Aoi knew better.

_Ah. Listening devices. I recognize it from the times I used them to listen in on what business my parents were always talking about._

_They must have this place completely bugged._

_From a family of this importance, it's not a surprise. They probably have people listening behind the scenes at all times. Just in case guests or some workers were to be discussing anything that might threaten the family._

_That is actually quite smart of them. You can never be too prepared._

Aoi watched Tomo as she guided them through the house, to the dining room.

_It's weird. The way she walks... she manages to make it look casual and elegant at the same time. _

Aoi looked back at Tomo's mother and immediately reddened at the look on her face.

It was a knowing look that said, 'I know you've been checking out my daughter'.

He hastily whipped his head in the other direction, embarrassed to have been caught.

Before they knew it, they had arrived in the dining hall.

_Wow. When they say dining hall, they really mean dining _hall_._

The room was around thirty meters long and the table had enough room to accommodate one hundred people. But at the moment, there was only four chairs.

_How many more times can these people completely surprise me?_

"We aren't exactly like other families." Tomo's mother explained. "We sometimes have a lot of guests, so we need to be able to hold many people at our table. But when we do not need that much space," She clapped her hands twice. "we simply shorten it."

Butlers rushed forwards and within twenty seconds, they were staring at a table big enough for four.

Aoi felt hands shoving her from behind.

"Now, now, don't be shy. You can sit right beside Tomo."

They ended up having Aoi sit right in between the two, with the empty seat across from him.

Aoi was just about to make a comment when they heard a low rumbling noise.

Coming out from behind the fireplace was a tall man.

"Ah, here you are. Sorry to keep you waiting I was ju-"

He stopped abruptly when he caught sight of Aoi.

"Now, now. Who is this? You should have told me we had a guest. Then I wouldn't have used the secret passageway."

Her mother answered. "This is Aoi Hyoudou. I'm thinking of talking to her parents about a certain betrothal."

"Really?"

He studied her curiously.

Aoi blushed under the heavy scrutiny.

"Why her? It doesn't seem like there is anything special about her."

"Father!"

"Dear, that is where you are mistaken. This girl is perfect. Or should I say, boy."

"Mother! You can't just go around saying things like that!"

"Don't worry, the bugs are off."

"I know that! But what if she didn't want anyone else to know?"

Aoi butted in this time. "No, it's fine."

"See?"

Her father was frozen, just like her mother had been before. That was, until he too broke out into a gigantic smile.

"You're a boy right?"

"Yes I am a boy. I'm a cross dresser, just like your daughter."

"Perfect! This is perfect!" He grabbed his hand and shook it ferociously. "Welcome to the family!"

"Mother! Father! Get a hold of yourselves! You're scaring him! Not to mention that we still have to contact his parents and get their permission."

"Don't even worry about it. We'll make it so that they cannot refuse!"

"Okay, okay." Tomo soothed. "Let's just bring it down a notch. Every can calm down and take a seat. We can discuss everything over dinner."

"That's my son! Always cool headed and sophisticated! I am expecting great things from you."

Tomo's mother once again leaned down and whispered to him.

"We like to always say son. That way we get into the habit of it and don't slip up in public."

Aoi nodded his head in understanding.

"Yes, I suppose that does make sense."

"Of course it does! We don't do things for no reason. That would be ridiculous!"

"This is great! I've heard your father, himself owns a rather large company. This could spark a big business deal."

He began muttering to himself about all potential deals he could suggest.

"Father. It hasn't been decided yet. Calm down before you completely scare him away."

"Right."

"But your parents simply _must _come over tomorrow. If they are not busy, that is. Us girls can talk about plans over tea and the boys can talk about business deals in the study."

Aoi was confused.

"Um, excuse me, but who will be joining the men and women?"

"But whatever do you mean?"

Aoi shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Oh... Well, you will be joining the women and Tomo, the men. I think we can all agree on that. Tomo is not one for gossip and I do not think you would be all that interested in companies and financial things."

Aoi nodded in agreement.

"Great! Then it's settled."

"Except, we have to make sure they are not busy tomorrow."

"Yes, I know. Aoi can you ask your parents to confirm our plans?"

"Of course, but what are we going to do in means of contacting each other?"

She laughed. "You are just darling! I like you already."

_Why can't I stop blushing? Dang it Aoi!_

"Tomo, give her your cellphone number."

"Sure. Do you have a phone?"

Aoi shook her head.

"Charles!" Her mother called.

The butler came rushing inside.

"Charles, get this young lady a cellphone."

"Yes, Milady."

"Uh... you really don't need to do that."

She let out, yet another laugh. "If you are to be my son's fiancee, then you should a cellphone so that you can contact him directly."

Not ten seconds later, the butler returned with a cellphone in hand.

"Here you are Miss."

"Thank you."

Tomo explained everything to her.

"You can customize it as much as you want. If you have any questions about it, just come to me. I frequently change numbers, so I will be sure to keep you updated on that as well. If your number leaks out or anything, just tell me and I'll get you a new one. Please just give it to me for a second."

Aoi dropped the device into Tomo's hand and watched as he pressed a few buttons and inputted his number.

Seconds later, he returned the phone to Aoi.

"There. If you want to call me now, just press one." Tomo nodded to herself. "I think you should be good."

"Thank you."

"Oh, it's no big deal. If you want anything else, my son and I would be happy to comply. My husband is a bit busy at times, so it would be best to come to us first."

"But isn't Tomo busy too?"

"Yes, but you are currently, more important."

_Don't do it. _

_Don't do it. _

_A-Ah... great. You did it. _

_You blushed. Once again, making a fool of yourself._

Tomo saw that he was embarrassed and tried to comfort her.

"Don't worry, it's no big deal. I'll find the time."

"Yes, of course he can! Don't even worry for a second. My son is only the best at timing things! Did you know that he sets the dates and times for every meeting that we attend?"

"Mother. Stop bragging."

"Sorry, sorry."

"No it's fine. If I am to," he blushed. "become your fiancee, then I should know more about you. I am quite curious as to what you do."

"That's the spirit my girl! Look at you! Already embracing the engagement! I really think that we should go out shopping for dresses together sometime."

"Don't go getting ahead of yourself, Mother."

"I would love to Mrs. Saito. But what do you do Tomo."

"Nothing of any importance."

"Oh he's just being modest! He comes up with excellent deals with our business partners, scopes out businesses with the most potential, seals most of our deals and much more! His eyes are especially fantastic. With them, he can tell who is lying and who's telling the truth, just by their body posture!

He's an absolute natural. He's already ready to take on all of our companies and businesses. And he's only fourteen! He's-"

"That's enough Mother."

Tomo's tone was harsh and cold. But his mother didn't seem to catch on.

"Stop being so modest! I'm sure Aoi will love to brag about you when you do finally end up getting married."

Tomo and Aoi flushed.

"You're making me out to be some amazing super human. I've just got good business sense. That's all. Nothing more."

"Now son, don't go speaking to your Mother like that. Besides, even I can agree that you are wonderful when it comes to anything that has to do with business or deals. You should accompany us to our next meeting, Aoi. That way you can watch him in action. It is amazing how he can persuade people like that. It's like he was born for this."

"That's because he was." Her mother commented.

They laughed.

_Everything they say, just sounds so... sophisticated. I feel like they're much more intelligent and knowledgeable than me. Yes, they are older, but even Tomo..._

"Don't go thinking badly off yourself Aoi."

Aoi was startled out of his thoughts.

_How did she know?_

"Remember, my eyes. It wasn't hard to read your expression."

_But... I pulled my best poker face... Maybe her eyes really aren't something to just ignore. Maybe they are as splendid as everyone says they are._

_They may just look like a brilliant blue, but as I now know, there is much more to them._


	5. Chapter 5

"Well, bye Aoi! I hope you can come over tomorrow. Remember your cellphone. Just press-"

"One, yes I know."

"Sorry, that was my ranting again."

"It's fine. I'll see you soon Tomo."

"See you Aoi."

And with that, the window rolled back down and the limo sped off.

Aoi let the breath he was holding in leave his system.

_That was intense. _

Aoi silently made his way to the back of his house. His parents would no doubt be upset that he was out so late.

He quietly spun the doorknob and pushed the door.

He winced as the hinges creaked.

He tiptoed inside and shut the door.

A light flicked on.

"There you are!"

He screamed.

"Y-You scared me."

He held his chest, trying to recover from the scare.

"Where have you been young man! We were worried sick! And what's that in your hand!"

"Calm down Mom! You'll be happy when you hear-"

"A CELLPHONE!"

She had wretched the phone out of his hands and was now studying it intently.

"Where in the world did you get this!? Did you steal it?"

"No-"

"Find it and pocket it?"

"No, I-"

"Waste your own mon-"

"MOM!"

He breathed heavily, upset from not being listened to.

"Just give me a minute to explain."

She nodded, waiting.

"I was coming home from Maid Latte and happened to run into Tomo Saito-"

"Tomo Saito!? You mean heir to the Sait-"

"Yes, Mom! Now let me finish. I was then invited to their house, to eat dinner with them. I was then offered an engagement proposal."

"E... engagement, p-pr-proposal... with Tomo Saito? You...?"

"Yes."

His mom starting jumping and cheering.

"YES! YES! YES!"

She stopped as she realized something.

"Wait... do they know that you're-"

"Yes. Tomo Saito is the same. She is also a cross dresser."

She screeched and resumed with her cheering.

"YES! Yuuta! Yuuta , get down here this instant!"

Aoi's father entered the downstairs kitchen holding a lamp.

"What is it?"

"Yuuta! This is no need for lamps! This is a time for celebrating!"

He lowered his lamp.

"What is it then?"

"Aoi has gotten an engagement proposal from Tomo Saito!"

His eyes widened.

"Saito!?"

"Yes!"

They wrapped their arms around each other and jumped around gleefully.

Aoi was silent, shocked with her parents' strange behaviour.

"Okay, so tell us all the details."

"First you both need to calm down."

Reluctantly they settled down and took a seat at the table.

"So?"

"Oh! Right, right. Well, as I said before, I ran into Tomo on my way home from Maid Latte. As she has very talented eyesight, she recognized that I was a boy wearing a wig almost immediately. In return for knowing my secret, she shared hers with me.

After that, we talked for a while and was then offered to join them for dinner. I said yes and followed her to their limo. Inside was her mother. We told her my position and she instantly insisted that I become her betrothed.

Apparently they couldn't seem to find any solution for their problem. Having another Saito heir is necessary. But the problem was that wouldn't be able to happen if Tomo married a girl, so they would have to adopt, which usually isn't acceptable for high end people like them. Not to mention that the girl would have to be fine with Tomo.

Then if Tomo got to marry a boy like she had wished, the public would think she was gay and that would ruin the family name. And if she revealed her secret instead, the problem is that since they usually use her charm to make most deals, a lot of people would be happy and probably get rid of their deals. Therefore, I was their best option."

His mother turned to his father. "Yuuta, this is perfect! This is the chance we've been waiting for."

"Aoi. I'm sorry for all the times we treated you badly because of the way you dress. It's very useful in this case. You could be the one who gets this family back into the material world! From now on, I will treat you like my daughter."

"Me as well."

Even though they were selfish reasons to start accepting their son, Aoi was happy.

_This is... the first time that they've ever been proud of me..._

Aoi snapped out of his daze.

"Right, that is why they gave me this cellphone. It's to call them to tell them if you could come over to their mansion tomorrow."

His mother shoved it back in his hands.

"Yes, yes! Phone them immediately!"

"I have a meeting tomorrow, but I can cancel."

They both nodded encouragingly at him.

He stood up and did exactly as Tomo said he would have to do to contact her.

"Hello?"

"Hi Tomo."

"So what's the news?"

"We can make it."

"What time tomorrow?"

"How about we send a limousine to your place at four? Then we have plenty of time to talk before dinner."

"Uh, you don't have to-"

"If I don't, then my mother will insist upon it. We have a limo already set up for you at that time. So it's not the least bit bothersome."

"Already set up?"

"Yes. My mother got a bit over excited and already informed a driver. When I got home, she asked me for the address and told the driver right after. She really wants this whole ordeal to go well."

"Okay then, I will see you tomorrow."

"Okay. See you then, Aoi."

With that, he hung up.

His parents were looking at him expectantly.

"So?"

"A limousine will come by to pick us up at four."

They continued with their happy spree.

_If everyone is _this _excited, then I can't wait to see how tomorrow will turn out._


	6. Chapter 6

Aoi's parents were at the edge of their seats in the limo, jumping with anticipation.

"Would you two just calm down already?"

His mother responded.

"Sorry, sorry. You're right. If we look to excited, we'll look eager."

"That's because you are eager." he muttered to himself.

When the finally stopped, his mother rushed out before the driver could open the door.

"Yuuta, come look at this."

Aoi ignored them as they gawked at the building.

_Been there, done that._

Aoi saw a figure coming to greet them and turned towards them.

It was Tomo.

"Aoi! It's great to see you again!"

She bowed and kissed his hand.

"We just saw each other yesterday."

"Yes, but it feels like forever when I am away from you."

His cheeks burned.

She spun towards his parents.

"Ah! How rude of me! I'm afraid I didn't introduce myself. I am Tomo Saito. It is truly an honour to meet you."

She shook hands with his father. And kissed his mother's hand as well.

_Even my mother who is a married woman who is _thirty nine_ blushes when Tomo kisses her hand. He is good. Too good._

"Please let me escort you into our estate. My mother and father are waiting in the lounge."

He led them through the open doors and into the mansion.

They all followed him through the many hallways and rooms until they finally reached their destination.

"Mother, Father, our guests have arrived."

They both stood up from their previous seats.

"Very well. Then I shall take the girls with me to the tea room. We will see you boys later."

She motioned for Aoi and his mom to follow her.

"You have your own tea room?"

She tried to make it sound like a normal question, but some envy slipped into her voice.

"Yes. It is a common thing for me to invite some of my friends over to gossip over tea. It happened so frequently that we decided to dedicate a room towards it."

They stopped inside of a large room with expensive looking furniture in it.

There was a glass table in the middle of the chairs and couches.

_Just _how _rich are these people?_

"Do have a seat."

They sat with Mrs. Saito in the seat that was clearly meant for her only. Across from her was Aoi's mother and then Aoi at the left end.

"Which teas do you prefer? We've got almost anything."

Mrs. Hyoudou replied first. "I like green tea."

"Me as well."

"Well would you look at that! We already have found something we have in common."

She grabbed a packet out of the many on a rack next to the tea set.

"I already had water preheated."

She poured powder into the tea pot.

_What is she doing?_

"Oh! Forgive me! You see, we have a servant who makes this special type of tea. She crushes the leaves fresh herself and then puts them in these cute little packets. It gives the tea this special exotic flavour."

She poured the green liquid equally into three cups.

She picked hers up and sipped at it.

"Well? Take a drink."

They took a drink.

"Oh my! This is splendid!"

"Right!?"

"This is really good."

"Only the best comes from the Saito family. So did you do any thinking towards our proposition?"

"Yes. We thought it would be an excellent opportunity that, I'm afraid we cannot pass up."

She squealed.

"Perfect! I'll start planning immediately!"

"Not with out me I hope!"

"I wouldn't dream of it!"

They laughed together.

"It's official then! Tomo and Aoi are officially engaged! We must tell the boys whenever they are done!"

"I am just curious, but why is Tomo with them in their meeting?"

"It's because Tomo is the brains behind all things that the Saito family is known for! He is a prodigy.

He scopes out the best of deals and can persuade people into them. He goes to almost all business meetings and checks up on our many companies frequently.

He is the Saito family representative. His father gave up that position when Tomo first starting showing his potential at the age of twelve. Ever since, he's been doing the majority of work concerning that area."

"Seriously!? Saito family representative? That is amazing. He earned that title at _twelve_?"

Mrs. Saito nodded in confirmation.

"Wow."

"You should see him working. It's like he's in his own world. He becomes really serious and doesn't let anything disturb him."

"He is truly a girl's dream. Handsome, rich, polite, intelligent and a business man."

"That's why Aoi is lucky."

He flushed at the sudden attention.

"I'm betting all the girls will be jealous."

"You better watch out Aoi. Tomo has a lot of admirers. But you really need to watch out for a girl called Kokoa Aichi."

"Isn't she that girl you were talking about the other day in the limo?"

"Yes. She is very persistent. She wishes to marry Tomo and makes it very obvious. She is completely taken with him.

She doesn't know Tomo's secret, but it's not like we can just tell her. If she ever found out, I'm not sure what she'd do.

But she is a big threat towards you. Any girl that even started getting close to Tomo would get injured in some way. Every time she'd play innocent, but every single girl claims that they met her and she warned them to stay away from him.

Then, soon after refusing to listen, they'd all end up wounded. One girl supposedly 'fell' off a cliff."

"A-Are you serious?"

"Yes, but don't worry about it. Tomo will be your knight in shining armour. I know that he will save you from anything Kokoa might try to do to you."

Aoi blushed.

_I really need to learn how to control my blushing._

"Just avoid her. Not a girl you want to around. But aside from that subject, we have the news around. Everyone must know this!"

"But before we do that, we have to get them matching rings. If we don't do that before we begin telling people, they'll notice their bare fingers and consider it to be just a rumour."

"I like the way you think. I ca tell we'll be great friends! We must go shopping for them soon then. The sooner the news gets out, the better."

"We'll have to go in disguises. That way we can have a ball of some sort and then announce it as a surprise!"

"Yes! That's perfect! We'll announce this half way through the ball, they will not be seen until that moment."

"Then just seconds after everyone is told, the guests of honour will appear together, wearing their rings!"

"It's perfect!" They said in unison.

They giggled.

Aoi's eyes were wide at the speed of conversation.

It was one thing after another. Not to mention, the two women were just practically finishing each other's sentences.

"When can we get together to plan the wedding?"

"What!? You are going to plan this early!?"

"Of course!"

"Why ever not?"

_Okay, this is starting to get weird. I can't even tell which of them is speaking anymore._

"I think that it should be an outside wedding."

"YES! We can have it here. The backyard is just magnificent! You should see the flowers. The front may look nice, but the back is such a view! We have hired only the best gardeners."

"That would be excellent!"

"I don't know about you, but I think that the colours should be black and-"

"Aqua." They giggled as they had spoke at the same time again.

"Aqua because it would complement Tomo's eyes." The cracked up.

_How are they doing that? They just met, yet they can easily read each other's minds._

_I kinda feel left out. If only Tomo was here..._

_Bad Aoi! Stop thinking about Tomo. You are supposed to be contributing to this conversation._

Aoi turned back towards the women, only to find that they were both watching him.

"You're blushing Aoi." Her mother remarked.

"Thinking about Tomo?"

Aoi flushed even darker.

"N-No."

"Awww! You two will be so cute together!"

_Again, unison._

"Just wait till you appear in public together. You'll look adorable!"

"I wonder what the boys are talking about?"

"You want to find out?"

"What do you mean?"

"We have this whole place bugged. Not one piece of gossip will get through this house with out reaching my ears."

_Wait... does that mean-_

"Don't worry Aoi. I always have the bugs turned off in this room. Instead, I keep my own personal recording tape in this room.

Originally all things said go to the people in our bug room, but I don't want any of our servants hearing things that they're not supposed to.

And this way, if I need to leave the room for a minute, I can hear what the gossipers say behind my back."

_Wow. From my first impression, she seemed quite incompetent and a bit of a hollow head. Now I know that she is actually quite ingenious._

"So all we need to do is go to thebug room and listen to what they have been talking about. It's probably just boring things related to deals and such, but you never know. There might be something interesting within the conversation.

They followed her out of the room and down even more hallways.

_If I do end up marrying Tomo, that mean that I'll have to live here one day. _

_How will I ever manage to navigate through here on my own?_

They stopped outside of a wall.

"As you, Aoi, have seen already, there are quite a few hidden passageways through out the entire estate."

She knocked on the wall three times, then once, then twice and once again.

They waited a few seconds before they heard some rumbling.

_The same rumbling as before..._

The seemingly normal wall slid upwards, revealing a stairway that led upwards.

"Wow." he whispered.

Mrs. Saito bounded up a couple of steps before stopping to look backwards.

"Well, you are coming, are you not?"

They shook out of their dazes and followed her up the well swept steps.

When they reached the top of them, the two from the Hyoudou family were shocked.

In front of them was a bunch of monitors with sound and picture.

"I thought this was a bugging room?"

"It is. But you can't possibly think that we don't use surveillance cameras. If we didn't, what kind of security would we have here? A certainly awful one!"

Aoi scanned the screens in awe.

_They have so many rooms in this house, yet they have multiple cameras for all of them... _

_There has to be at least twenty people working in this room alone. _

_How many people work for them here?_

"See, this is Akiyo's study."

They followed her pointing finger to a monitor showing all of the males.

"Turn up the volume on monitor 131."

The volume for that room increased mere seconds after the request was placed,

_This sure is an efficient place._

They turned all of their attention to that monitor.

"I don't think that would be sufficient." Tomo was saying.

"Why ever not!?" Mr. Hyoudou seemed taken aback.

"If we do give you ten percent of that company and in return thirty percent of one of yours, then we would be making much less."

"Are you saying that my company is worth much less than yours!?"

"Yes."

Mr. Hyoudou was beginning to turn an ugly shade of red.

"I'll have you know that my companies are very successful!"

"Yes, just not particularly that one. If we did make this deal, then we would lose approximately three point six percent of our annual income. That company is one of our best. It would be foolish to give away that much percentage. Instead, I would like seventeen percent of one of your other companies."

"What company?"

"Tesfuga."

He spluttered. "Excuse me!? If I did that-"

"I can assure you that you will gain plenty from this deal. Our Desarte company is great in dealing with businesses with yours. We can give you a royalty there. Then you can go there for loans, ideas for next company movements and expansions and help creating deals that will surely be successful."

"How do I know that-"

"Mr. Hyoudou I believe everything will be completely beneficial for all of us and that we will be completely honest and faithful in this deal. I do not like dirty play."

Mr. Hyoudou still looked sceptical.

"How about we try this out for a year? If you are not satisfied with the no doubt, increased results, then we'll call the whole thing off."

She stretched out her hand in preparation for a handshake.

He sighed and shook her hand.

"You are really full of yourself, you know."

"No sir. I am just confident in the success of my companies."

He grunted. "I'll come by with the papers tomorrow."

Mr. Saito took that moment to step in.

"Perfect. Now we should probably return to the girls. It should be dinner time soon."

And with that, they left the room.

The three turned back to face one another.

"As you can see, my son is a business genius, way beyond his years."

"I don't even see why he still goes to school."

"It would look rather bad if he quit school at the age of fourteen, don't you think?"

"Yes I suppose so."

"Now we better be getting back to the tea room before the boys. If we aren't there, I'm sure my son with his intelligence will immediately figure out exactly where we were and what we were doing."

They all nodded in agreement and rushed down the stairs, lifting up there dresses, not wanting to rip their dresses.

That_ is what Tomo is like when doing business work?_

_She is more amazing than I had originally thought._


	7. Chapter 7

They had just sat down and composed themselves when the boys entered the room.

"Ah, here you are! We were just informed by Charles that dinner would begin soon."

Although he was quiet during the business meeting, Mr. Saito took control of the conversation immediately.

"Of course. Come on ladies, let's let our men escort us to the dining hall."

The women naturally slipped in beside their partners with ease. But Aoi just stood around looking awkward.

Tomo let out her elbow to him.

"Lady Hyoudou, would you please give me the honour of escorting you to the dining room?"

He looped his arm in hers and blushed.

"Yes."

She grinned at him.

"Excellent."

_I remember these halls... Maybe I just need to remember how to navigate to places using my memory of objects. _

_That is something I could actually be good at._

When they entered the dining hall, Aoi noticed that this time the table was big enough for six.

"So how are we going to the seating arrangements?" questioned Mrs. Saito.

Mrs. Hyoudou grabbed Tomo's other arm, tugging not only Tomo, but Aoi over to her.

"You boys got Tomo already today. So this time, us ladies would like him."

"Okay, with that, Tomo can you come up with a suitable arrangement?"

"Of course. Since you are no doubt going to tell us that the engagement is a yes, and would like us to sit together, then we will sit right here."

She pulled out a chair for Aoi and then pointed to the end of the table where she would be sitting.

"Then I suppose Mrs. Hyoudou would also like to sit next to me,"

She blushed.

Tomo pulled out another chair to his right for Mrs. Hyoudou.

"Then I know that my mother would probably like to sit next to her, so that they can chat between themselves as the meal progresses. And then my father can sit next to her at the other end of the table and Mr. Hyoudou beside him. This set up can assure that everyone is happy. This way everyone has someone to talk to and in not uncomfortable."

Everyone sat down at their assigned seats.

"Well done, son. Leave it to you to come up with things like this on the spot."

"Of course he can! He is a genius."

"Mother, please stop bragging about me."

"But there is just so much to brag about! Like-"

"Mother, I am sure they do not want to listen to you name off every single one of my achievements."

"Oh, but I would love to! Surely they are all amazing!"

"Well... if you insist."

The table broke down into three different conversations.

The men were talking about stocks, the women, Tomo's awards and contest wins and Tomo was apologizing to Aoi about her parents.

"I'm sorry about her. If you couldn't tell by now, my mother likes to brag a lot. It is her hobby. She loves to make people jealous."

"No, it's fine. If my mom had that much to brag about, then she would probably brag a lot too."

They laughed.

"I'm sorry for this whole thing. The engagement probably isn't your favourite thing right now."

"No, it's fine. Because of the engagement, my parents are actually beginning to accept me and treat me like their daughter instead of son."

"I'm sorry to hear about that."

"No, don't be! Now that they are embracing it, my mother will probably start bragging about me. 'Oh, my daughter's marrying the Saito family heir!' and 'My daughter is a famous internet idol!'"

"Ha ha. You are probably right. Once anything good happens to these high end women, they must brag about immediately.

That's the main reason my mother has her tea club. Not only does she love to gossip, but the gossipers can get things to spread around rather quickly.

She tells them one thing, the next day everyone in Japan knows. This is due to her gossipers knowing other gossipers and it just continues on from there. It is quite the circuit."

"I'm sure it is interesting to watch."

"Oh, believe me. It is. But because of my mother's desire to constantly brag about _me, _I am constantly being stared at.

That's why I refrain from going out to much and if I do, it's usually in disguise. Except for the exception of meetings and business related things."

"Not going out into public? That must be difficult. What do you do for school then?"

"I go to a high class school near by. Yes, I still get stared at there, but it's the best we can do.

I insist on getting home schooled though. Kids at that rich school are even worse.

The girls cling to my arms and boys try to become my friends because of gaining other things. It's hard to tell who wants to be my friend and who just wants the money and connections.

It's awful watching them fight over me when we need to do class projects.

I know that their parents are no doubt pushing them to try to get near me.

It becomes really annoying."

"That must suck."

"Yeah. No matter how much I try to distance myself from them discreetly, they always follow me."

"I'll be your friend then."

Tomo looked startled.

"What!?"

"You heard me. Since you don't really have any friends, I'll be yours."

She recovered from her shock and smiled.

"Sorry, you just surprised me for a second. That is not what I was expecting you to say. But, thanks."

"It's nothing. We'll be friends slash fiances."

They chuckled.

"That does sound quite weird when you say it like that."

"Yes, I suppose it does."

"Soooo cute."

The two spun back towards the parents.

The mothers were staring at them with cooing faces.

"Were you watching us?"

"Yes."

"You don't have to be so blunt about it." She muttered.

"What was that?"

"Oh, nothing."

"Were you whispering something to Aoi, in secret?"

They flushed.

"What!? No!"

_Great. Now we're in sync too._

_Now all we need is our fathers to join in too._

"Look at that!"

"They're in sync!"

"Just like the best couples do!"

"But you were doing it too." Aoi tried to defend themselves.

"Yeah, but that's just because we're great friends."

"What if it's just because we're really good friends too?"

"No, it's because you're a great couple."

_Their logic! It's ridiculous!_

"How do you know?"

"Because we do."

_Again!_

_What is wrong with them!?_

"That makes no sense!"

"Of course it does."

Aoi felt a hand on his arm.

_Tomo._

"Just ignore them. I can agree with you, but it's no use arguing with them."

He felt himself calming down instantly.

"Just wait until they're married!

"Then this will be ten times better!"

They sighed while Tomo and Aoi shook their heads.

"I think that our mothers are becoming too much alike."

"Yes. Before you know it, they'll be dressing like each other and then we won't know who is who."

_That would not be good._

"I'm afraid that we will soon have two mothers each."

"That would be a nightmare! One mother is enough!"

They laughed.

Mrs. Hyoudou was taken aback.

"_Excuse _me!?"

"Sorry mom."

They tried to stifle their laughs, but some got through the cracks in between their fingers.

_I can't wait to see how everything turns out._

_It's bound to be..._

_Interesting._


	8. Chapter 8

"The wedding will be perfect! We have already decided how we will announce the engagement."

Everyone at the table was listening to the two women. They were informing them all on wedding plans.

"We are going to have a ball. Until halfway through, Aoi and Tomo will be absent."

"Then we will have everyone quiet down and then announce it."

"The two will then arrive together, wearing their rings to prove it!"

"Isn't it just perfect!"

"I guess so. But when will the ball be."

"As soon as possible. Us girls will handle everything."

"Right. All we have to do is get the rings and then outfits that would fit to this occasion."

"We will send out the invitations and get started on the planning tomorrow."

"But, we will need Aoi to join us."

"What!? Why me?"

"We need to get you fitted for a dress."

"And don't you want to help choose out your rings?"

"Well, yes I-"

"Then it's settled. Tomo dear,"

"Yes?"

"We will have to get you fitted for a suit too."

"Don't you already have my sizes?"

"Yes, but we need to make sure that your outfit matches Aoi. What kind of pair would you look like if you came to a ball, not matching one another?"

She sighed.

"Alright then. I leave it to you."

"Spectacular. Akiyo."

"Yes?"

"Please get the kitchen staff to begin working on the cake for the ball. We think it should be strawberry with vanilla cream."

"How soon are you planning on having this ball?"

"Saturday."

"What!? It's Wednesday!"

"Yes. That gives the guests plenty of time to respond and we can make all preparations with in the next two days. But you must be sure to keep this a secret. We don't want anyone finding out before the ball."

"If you're sure you can do all this..."

"Do you doubt me?"

"Of course not!"

"Then stop with the negative attitude. We can make it in no time."

They all mumbled their agreements, but still looked sceptical about preparing everything in two days.

"Now if this is going to work, everyone is going to need to contribute to this. As I said, Akiyo, you need to get all food related things prepared. Make sure that all the hors d'oeuvres are suitable and ready for Saturday evening."

"I'm on it."

"Gizoko, I want you to be in charge of decorations. I will give you my credit card and address to the best store in Japan. It is just five miles away and very convenient. You can choose the ball's colours."

"How do I-"

"I'll arrange a limo for you. The driver already knows the location, so that shouldn't be a problem."

She analyzed the remaining people.

"Yuuta, I have heard that you have connections in the classical music industry."

"That is correct."

"Then you are in charge of music."

She thought for a second and then turned to Aoi.

"I don't suppose you know how to dance that well."

"No. I've never been taught anything like that."

"Then I shall assign you our best dance instructor. You will stay with her tomorrow. She will teach you some classic dances like the waltz."

"Okay."

"Tomo."

"Yes?"

"You are going to deal with the floral arranging. Meet up with the florists and coordinate with

Mrs. Hyoudou. She will be choosing the colours for the ball, so according to that choice, decided which flower combinations to use and where to set them up with in the main hall."

"I can meet up with Loroki as soon as necessary."

"See? Everything will go smoothly. I do things like this every once in a while. This is like child's play to me. I am sure that everything will be ready in time."

"You are rather sure of yourself dear."

"No, I'm just confident in our success."

Aoi winced.

_Please tell me that she didn't really just say that._

"Funny you should say that, Mother."

_Dang it! And we were just so close!_

"I do recall saying a sentence remarkably close to that in the midst of our conversation. Do tell me, were you girls listening to us chatting?"

"No! However would we manage to do that!?"

"Oh, I don't know... perhaps... the bugging room."

_Crap! She knows!_

"Okay, fine! We just wanted to know what you were talking about."

"I thought you weren't interested, in those kind of things Mother."

"Well, we thought that we might hear something interesting in the middle of your conversation."

"Then I'm sure you were disappointed."

Mrs. Hyoudou butted in.

"But we weren't! It was amazing to hear you in the middle of business deals! You are truly a natural. If I was your Mother,"

Aoi and Tomo snickered at her choice of words.

"then I would brag about you too."

"I know right!"

Tomo's father joined in on the conversation.

"Son, I will admit, your skills in business are not just something you can ignore. They even surpass the skills of someone my age, including me!"

"Don't be so foolish, Father. Yours are still far superior to mine."

"Haven't you noticed, son? You are now the one running the meetings. I barely even need to speak anymore."

"Don't belittle yourself so much."

"It's not me who is doing the belittling son."

Tomo stood up from his seat.

"I think I am done eating."

He then left the room without so much as another word.

"I'm sorry about him. He doesn't seem to have realized his talent yet."

"Well, back on to the task at hand, we must continue our chat about Saturday. We will do all of our individual tasks here at the manor tomorrow.

On Friday, we will then go to our separate stores in our groups as the girls and boys. We will get our formal wear for the ball then.

After that, we will finally go to my favourite jewellers to get the rings. Is everyone okay with that?"

They nodded in response.

"Great. What colours were you thinking of Gizoko?"

"Maybe a crimson red with a creamy white."

"Splendid! I love it already! I'll have to inform Tomo on your choices later. He should have no problems finding flowers of those colours."

She paused for a second, taking a moment to look at everyone seated at the table.

"Does anyone else have anything they'd like to add or ask about? No? Okay then."

She leaned back in her chair.

"Charles! We'd like dessert!"

She faced them, once again.

"What would you like?"

"Vanilla ice cream."

"Cherry pie."

"Flan."

"Butterscotch pudding."

"And I'll take cherry pie as well."

When the butler had left the hall, Mrs. Hyoudou was left a little curious.

"Oh, yes, I mean to ask you, why do all of your butlers have English names?"

"Well for security reasons, we do not let the names of any of our servants be known. Instead, we give them fake names."

"But why English names?"

"Well, when butlers are usually given fake names, they are quite often English. So, we just decided to give them all fake English names. It's easier that way."

"Ah, I see."

They sat in silence for a while before all of their attention was drawn towards Aoi. He was just sitting there quietly.

"What's wrong Aoi?" His mother questioned. "Thinking about Tomo?"

He blushed, but answered anyways.

"I'm just worried if he's okay or not."

"Of course he is! It just makes him feel kind of awkward when people praise him in any form. It's rather curious. Who doesn't like getting complemented?"

_I guess she's just that kind of person._

_Should I ask to go see her?_

_Should I just stay quiet?_

"Would you like to go see him?"

Aoi was startled out of his thought, once again.

"P-Pardon?"

She laughed. "I asked if you would like to go see him."

"Um-I just-"

"You know what, don't even bother answering that. I'll show you to his room right now."

She stood and approached Aoi.

"Well? Come on."

Aoi tried to stand up, but he stumbled on his chair. His elbow was caught by Mrs. Saito.

"My, my. You must be more careful. If you fell, you might just injure that pretty little face of yours. Then we would have to postpone the ball. That wouldn't be any good. Now come on."

She whisked Aoi out of the hall.

"I'll be right back!" she called back over her shoulder.

They went back to the front of the mansion and up the steps opposite to the ones that Charles had went up the other day.

"His room is located in the top left tower, where as ours is in the main tower. One day you two will move into our room together."

_Why does she keep saying things like this? Is she trying to make me embarrassed?_

_I'm afraid that my cheeks are going to burn off._

"He does like solitary, so try not to be too pushy when first approaching him. He is usually fine, but sometimes he gets rather upset and doesn't leave his room.

This is where I want you to come in. Now that you have appeared, I would bet he would respond to you. How does that sound to you? You can be his support. Whenever he is down, you can be there to get him back on track."

_How does she do this?_

_It's like she stays up late at night, writing these lines. They sound extremely rehearsed, but like she just came up with it on the spot._

_These people are amazing._

"Here we are!"

They stopped outside of two bulky, dark green doors.

"He's not that into bright colours or lights so, please excuse the darkness of the room."

She pushed him towards the doors.

"Well? Knock."

She nodded encouragingly.

He raised his hand and hesitantly knocked.

He heard a voice come from inside.

"Who's there?"

"It's Aoi."

He heard a bunch of shuffling and then creaks from the doors in front of him being opened.

Tomo poked her head through the crack between the doors.

"Yes?"

"I was just-"

He turned around, only to see that Mrs. Saito had left him.

_How did she do that!? I didn't hear a thing!_

"Well-uh..."

"How about you come in?"

Tomo swung the rest of the doors open, leaving the sights of the room exposed to Aoi.

"Do enter."

Aoi walked in cautiously, taking in everything.

In the centre of the large room was a wide, bed.

Covering the walls was other works of art and pictures of her childhood.

Aoi noticed that there was nothing out of place.

_Maybe she is a girl at heart. Boys are usually really messy._

_Aside from me, that is._

"Don't you have any toys or anything?"

"In my closet," she pointed to two wooden, grey door standing side by side. "there is puzzles and other mind challenges. As for toys, no. I find no use in them and don't really have much free time."

"I see... But where do you keep your clothes?"

"In that closet."

She pointed to two more matching doors to her right side of the room this time.

_What!? I could have sworn there was nothing there before!_

_It seems like every time I look at somewhere again, more doors seem to appear._

_This place is so confusing._

"If you don't have any toys, then what do you do for fun?"

"I already told you. I do puzzles. I find puzzles entertaining and good for exercising your brain. Where as toys are useless and a waste of space. I stopped playing with them years ago."

_Is she really that mature?_

_I still have dolls that I like to play with._

Aoi decided to voice his thoughts.

"Why are you so mature? I mean, I seem really childish compared to you."

"Well, a few years back, I realized that I had a lot of weight on my shoulders.

Everyone is watching and expecting great things from me. They all have expectations that they believe I should meet. Since I noticed this, I started becoming more serious. I knew that if I _didn't_ start taking things more seriously, then people would be disappointed.

I just didn't was to disappoint anyone.

So, I did what I needed to do and took matters into my own hands to become the Saito heir that everyone wanted and expected me to become."

"That must have been hard."

"My whole life has been run by expectations and what the public thinks. Sometimes I just decide I've had enough. I complete break down and can't do anything.

It's like I become a different person. I start thinking about everything negatively and saying and doing things that I usually wouldn't even dream of doing. It's as if my body is possessed while I can't do anything about it.

I always lock myself away in my room in embarrassment. I don't want anyone to know how weak my mental stability really is. All it takes is the smallest of things to ruin me.

Every time, I have returned to normal, but I'm always worried that one time, I won't. I'll just be locked up in my mind forever... Not being able to do anything about it. It's a scary thought, but I'm worried that it might happen.

Well worried isn't the word. I... I'm... I'm scared alright?"

She began to cry.

"I'll admit it. I'm scared."

Aoi was shocked at her behaviour.

The usually cool and calm Tomo was long gone.

"I'm scared and I don't know what to do about it! I-I just-"

Aoi pulled her against him, shushing her sobs in a soothing manor.

Tomo responded by wrapping her arms around him tightly.

"Shhhh, shhhh. It's going to be alright. I'm here for you."

They stayed in that position for a minute or two before Tomo pulled away.

"I'm sorry. I was ranting again." She apologized while wiping away her tears on the back of her hand.

"Ahhhhh. Now I probably look like a mess!"

"No you don't. You look fine."

Tomo squinted her eyes at him.

"You're just saying that. I know that I must look awful."

"No, I like seeing this side of you. It shows the sensitiveness that I've never seen before. You always look so calm. I'm glad that you finally opened up to me."

"Well if you're this happy, then I'll be sure to cry more often."

They laughed.

"You know what I meant!"

"Yeah, I know."

She motioned to her darkly covered bed.

"Do you want to have a seat?"

"Sure."

They positioned themselves so that they were both side by side, lying back on her pillows.

"Aoi."

"Yes?"

"I just want you to know that I couldn't ask for a better person to marry."

He felt his face burning up.

"W-Why?"

"Because you are just... plain amazing. This is honestly no one else I would rather marry."

"Tomo?"

"Yes?"

"I want to be your support."

At this, she turned to face him.

"What do you mean?"

He blushed at trying to quote her mother.

"Whenever you fall, I want to be there to catch you and help you back up."

"Really?"

"Yeah, if we are going to get marr-"

Aoi was cut off, as he was found himself suddenly pinned to the bed in a hug.

He heard her whispering to him.

"Thank you Aoi. Thank you."


	9. Chapter 9

Aoi felt his heart speed up.

_W-What is this?_

"U-Uh, could you..."

Tomo scrambled off of him.

"Sorry! Personal space, I know."

"T-Tomo! You're crying!"

She wiped her hand across her face in a pathetic attempt to stop the tears streaming down her face.

"Sorry. I'm just, really happy."

She had a huge smile on her face.

_She looks really pretty when she smiles for real... I want to see her like this more often._

She laughed.

"Look at me! I'm a mess today! I just can't stop crying. God! What a pathetic loser you must think I am."

"No! I would never think of you like that! I think that only real men show tears."

She turned more serious.

"Why are you so nice?"

"What do you mean?"

"Even though you have no reason to, no matter what I say or do, you always try to make me feel better. You are always saying nice things to me, even though I rarely complement you yourself."

"Well you are now."

"I am what now?"

"Complementing me. You always do this, but just don't realize that you are."

"What part of that was me complementing you? I was just stating a fact."

"See! You don't even realize it! The thing is... people don't usually think that I am nice."

Tomo was shocked.

"What!? Why ever not!"

"Well, sometimes I can be, kind of manipulative and sly."

She burst out laughing.

"You are just too good, Aoi! Ha ha ha!"

"What!?"

"If you are able to manipulate people without them finding out about it, then that's a good thing in the mind of rich people.

What do you think they do to get all of their money? They manipulate people into giving it to them.

We are dirtier than robbers. We steal more discreetly. That way they can't even detect it was your fault that they suddenly went bankrupt."

"I don't even know how to respond to that."

She chuckled.

"Yeah, it's kind of a shock when you first realize this. But once you know, you begin to learn how true it is.

Many people do that, but I prefer to earn money properly. I guess that that's proof that unlike most people in the high end, I actually still have a conscience."

_Do they really do that?_

"Kinda sickening isn't it? Some people actually look up to and respect them. And that sometimes includes the people they stole from in the first place."

"That is..."

"I know right. When I realized this by myself, I was shell shocked.

It's just that if you're going to be introduced to the material world, then should know this kind of stuff.

Just remember, if you have any questions or literally anything, come to me."

"Thanks."

"No, no, thank you! You are helping us out greatly by agreeing to these marriage agreements. If you would have refused, then we would have been in big trouble.

You are the one sacrificing a lot for this, so I just wanted to help you through all of this. It's the least I could do."

"You know, I wanted to ask this before, but never got a chance to. But why is your room so dark. I mean, you only have dark colours in here and you've covered the windows with blinds."

"I just don't really like bright things. As you already know, my eyesight is especially good. But because of this, they're extra sensitive. Too much exposure to bright things and my vision would be absolutely ruined.

I can't risk that. I rely on my eyes too much, to just give up on them. Aside for needing them for daily tasks, I need them for assessing people.

If it wasn't for these eyes, then I wouldn't have met you."

_It's like these people know exactly what to say to make someone blush. What is with that?_

"My eyes were getting tired from being out in the sun too much, so I looked for somewhere dark to rest. That led to me finding the alley that you were in.

If I didn't have these eyes in the first place, then you wouldn't be here and I wouldn't be nearly as successful."

"I guess that makes sense."

"As you've heard my mother saying, I can tell if someone is lying or not and so on. These eyes leave me one step ahead of people. If I didn't have this excellent eyesight, then I wouldn't be as on the ball.

I'd just be another face in the crowd. But average won't do in the high end. You need to be exceptional for them to even give you a second glance."

Aoi couldn't help, but feel sympathy towards the other cross dresser.

"It's sounds like you're under a lot of pressure."

"It's nothing I can't handle."

"I'm sure I would probably crack if I was in your position."

"Why do you underestimate yourself so much? You would be brilliant and if you don't remember, I've already cracked many times."

"What makes you think that I'd be any good with business?"

"You already said so yourself. You are manipulative and sly. Those two factors along with a goal in mind is all you need."

"Then maybe I should try doing business sometime."

"Yeah, you could come along to a meeting with me. I'm sure that we would make an excellent team."

"You sure?"

"Of course! One of the main things you have to do in the rich world is keep people interested and approving of you. I'm sure if you joined me in one of my meetings and helped me, then you could gain a lot approval if you are good in business situations.

This is because a lot of people are respected because they are very good at making good, reliable deals. But girls especially. Few women are known for that kind of thing.

And since I am known for my business skills it would be great if you were too. They would deem you a suitable match for me.

It's all about keeping the public happy. That is necessary to being well known."

"Are you sure that would work?"

"Of course. The public loves young couples. Especially if they are compatible with one another and are likely to have a long lasting relationship."

"Do you think we can?"

"Well yeah. We can get through all of this. We'll be their favourite young couple ever!"

They laughed together.

"Yeah. We can do it."

"Of course we can. We'll be an awesome team."

"We'd better start calming down. We're getting too excited."

"Ha ha! You're right. Sorry about that. If you haven't noticed already, I'm having massive mood swings."

"No problem. It's completely understandable."

"I'm so glad I met you, Aoi."

"I honestly don't know what I'd be doing with out you. Even though we just met yesterday, it feels like it's been forever."

"Yeah, same here. Only yesterday, you say? Feels like at least a week."

"I know right. When I'm with you, it just feels like time slows down."

"I know right? It's amazing how close we are now."

"The bond we've formed in these two days is unbelievable. I don't ever want you to leave me."

"Tomo?"

"I'm sorry, it's just... even though we just met yesterday, I feel closer to you than anyone else."

_Ughhh! I feel as if my face is going to melt right off._

_If she saw me like this..._

"Aoi?"

"Yeah?"

"I've got to ask you, why do always refer to me as a girl?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I've noticed that when you talk about me, you always use 'she'. You want to be a girl, so I always use 'she' when it's about you. But why don't you use 'he' when it's about me?"

"I don't exactly know."

He scrunched his eyebrows together, trying to come up with an adequate answer.

"I guess I just forget to."

"Well could you, please? I don't want anything to remind me that I'm actually a girl and not a boy, like I want to be. And anyways, if we were out in public and you slipped up, then that would be the end to both of us."

"I think I can manage that."

"Thanks."

"Awwww!"

They both shot up in their seats.

Aoi's eyes were wide.

"Was that-"

"Yeah."

They shuffled off of the bed.

They heard faint sounds that sounded distinctly like talking.

"No, you just-"

"You hit the speaker button! They can hear you!"

"Damn it!"

And it ended there.

"What was that?"

"The adults were listening to our conversation in the bugging room."

"What!?"

"Yeah. One of them must of hit the speaker button. It allows us to hear them. They can be so annoying sometimes. Eavesdropping on my conversations. They are so nosey."

"Do they do this often?"

"Well, I don't usually have guests up in my room than often, but when I do, yes. They don't really do well with the whole privacy thing."

"That must be awful."

"Yes, well, just be careful of what you say from now on. They no doubt are still in the room, hoping that we thought they had fled after being caught."

"What? How'd he know?"

"Ugh! You pressed the button again!

"Just stay away from that area-"

Once again, the voices were cut off.

Tomo raised her hand in a movement that said, 'Exactly'.

"They are just, too easy to read."

"Are they always like this?"

"Yes."

She raised her voice.

"They are always _this_ annoying."

She turned back towards him.

"Sorry. They will still there. They should have left by now though."

"Is your house always this chaotic?"

"Yes. To us, this is a normal day."

_This family... will be the death of me._


	10. Chapter 10

The next day, they were all busy working on their different tasks.

Mr. Hyoudou was visiting a friend to talk about music for the ball, Mrs. Saito was thinking of people to invite, Mr. Saito was flipping through pages of snacks, trying to decide which would be served, Tomo was meeting up with their top florist, Mrs. Hyoudou was looking through aisles of decorations and Aoi was in the midst of her dance lessons.

They were hard at work, determined for the ball to turn out a success.

Aoi didn't want to look foolish, so he was trying his best remember the coach's movements and imitate them. By the end of the lesson, he was beat.

_I am so tired. Who knew that dancing could be so much work?_

Mrs. Saito entered the room.

"Oh, here you are! We were just meeting up for dinner. Come now, the boys are waiting in the main hall."

She pulled him upwards by the arm and helped him steady himself.

He was yanked down halls, until they ran into his mother.

"What's taking so long? I came to get you. The boys are getting impatient."

They were almost there, when the doorbell rang.

"Oh no!"

Mrs. Saito began to panic.

"You two can't be seen! It's supposed to be a secret!"

She pulled them over to a wall and knocked the same pattern as before.

"Follow this up to the bugging room. There you can watch everything and you'll know when you can come down. See you in a little while!"

They rushed up the stairs, eager to see what was going on downstairs.

The reached the monitors just in time to see the door open.

The workers gave them weird looks, but didn't say anything against it.

The moment the butler opened doors, a little girl slipped in through the crack and pushed past him.

She scanned the people in the room, before settling her eyes on Tomo.

"Tomo!" she screeched.

She jumped on to her, effectively knocking her backwards a few feet.

"Tomo! It's been so long!"

"It was only a week Aichi."

She slapped her arm playfully.

"How many times have I told you? Call me Kokoa!"

_Ah... so this is Kokoa Aichi._

"I got you something!"

She slipped a small blue box into Tomo's hand.

"Oh, uh... thanks. Where are your parents?"

"They are just out in the limo. They are kind of busy, but I begged them to let me come see you!"

"Oh, that's too bad."

"Yeah, I can only see you for a minute. But it's better than nothing."

_She really does like Tomo..._

"I have to go now, but I hope you like your present! Until we see each other again."

She grabbed Tomo's face and gave her a kiss on the cheek that made a big 'smooch' sound.

She skipped out of the mansion, humming merrily.

"Come on, let's go back."

They exited the hidden passage and finally made their way towards the main hall that was only ten meters ahead of them.

Tomo was standing still, obviously shocked.

"Tomo? Tomo?" her father called.

She came back to reality.

"Sorry. She just always shocks me. She is just so impulsive."

Aoi felt something prickle in his stomach.

"Come on. Let's just go for dinner."

"Oh! Those are nice."

The girls and Aoi were currently inside of the jewellers, looking at rings. They were trying to hurry, as the boys were waiting outside.

_She's said that about the last seven pairs._

"Oh! These are the ones! You two! Come look at these!"

Mrs. Saito waved them over to the display.

They peered inside of the glass.

Laying on the soft, red material was the rings.

One was gold and one was silver. The silver one was obviously Tomo's as it was just a plain band. The gold one on the other hand, was multiple thin gold strips, woven delicately around each other.

Aoi gasped.

_They're beautiful..._

Mrs. Saito turned back to the man, after seeing the look on Aoi's face.

"We'll take them."

"Sorry we took so long."

"It's no problem. We were just discussing some more business."

They all entered the limo and sat down in random seats.

"Why must you talk about that so much? You should have some fun every once in a while."

"It becomes a habit. Why do you talk about the engagement so much?"

"Because it's important! And I find it fun to plan everything."

"Mine is important too and I do think my job is quite interesting."

The other four just sat, watching the Saito couple in their heated conversation. They were clearly having a disagreement of some sort.

"Mother, Father, you should both probably calm down."

"Sorry. Aside from that topic, is everything ready for tomorrow?"

"Yes, dear. You've already gone over everything thrice."

"Sorry about that too. I just want it to be perfect."

"Don't worry Mother. Because you were in charge, I'm sure it will be."

"Thank you, my boy! Your outfits for tomorrow will look excellent together."

This spiked up some curiosity in Aoi.

"About that, why aren't we allowed to see each other's outfit?"

"Because. I want you two to marvel at the sight of each other tomorrow. That way, you will keep looking at one another. This will give everyone the impression that you are in fact in love."

They glowed red.

Tomo tried to push down some of her embarrassment.

"Right..."


	11. Chapter 11

Mrs. Saito felt like a kid again.

She had only remembered feeling this excited as a child.

It was currently three fifty five, five minutes left until the ball started.

She was bouncing on the balls of her feet.

"Calm down Emi." her husband suggested.

"Sorry. It's just that the guests should be arriving soon."

"But remember, it's supposed to be a surprise. So if you're acting all excited and suspicious, people will start to suspect something's going on. And they will already be curious enough with Tomo's absence."

Her attitude changed instantly. She was no longer preppy, but serious instead.

"Good point."

She nodded her head, while taking in deep breaths.

"Are Tomo and Aoi set up in the separate bugging divisions with Mr. And Mrs. Hyoudou?"

"Yes. But may I ask, why separate?"

She sighed. "As I said before, I want them to be surprised and amazed at the other's appearances. If they see each other before then, then by the time it is time for them to come out, the magic will be gone."

"Ah! Yes, thank you for coming."

Mrs. Saito had just finished greeting all the guests at the door.

She sighed in relief, as her job was finally done.

She was just about to get herself a treat, when she was ambushed by the young Aichi heir.

"Mrs. Saito, where's Tomo?"

"Well, he is busy at the moment. He'll be down in a while."

She humphed and stormed away, clearly not satisfied with this answer.

The only reason she had come to this ball was too see Tomo again. And now that he was not present at the current time, was _not _acceptable.

"It was great seeing you again Akiyo."

"You too, Saga."

"But can I ask, where is Tomo? Surely you don't want your best weapon sitting out on such a big event like this!"

"I don't plan on letting him sit out of this."

With that, he just walked away from the persistent man.

People kept asking him that question, making him have to come up with a valid excuse.

He just repeatedly told them that he was working on some papers and would be down soon.

The problem was, some people looked convinced, but others looked very suspicious of them.

It wasn't until know that he realized how popular Tomo was. There was very few who didn't ask of her whereabouts.

It seems that Tomo wasn't just a pretty face. Some people genuinely liked her.

Mrs. Saito almost did a fist pump when she learned it was time. This is what she had been waiting all night for.

This, was the main event.

She strutted up to their pre-built stage and made her way to the microphone, waiting only meters away for her.

She tapped the mic twice.

"Hello! I am hoping that you are all having a good time."

There was a few murmured sentenced across the hall.

"The dancing will commence soon, but first, there is announcement I would like to make."

_That's the queue._

Aoi followed his mother to were Tomo was supposed to be waiting for him.

She could faintly hear Mrs. Saito in the back ground, telling the crowd exactly what was going on.

"A lot of you have been asking about Tomo. Well, I just want to clear up the air."

They sped up even more, it was close to when they would have to make their grand entrance.

They were close to the boys.

_Tomo's just around that corner..._

Just thinking about it made Aoi's heart race.

Mrs. Hyoudou stopped and stepped away, revealing them to each other.

Their jaws both dropped.

_He looks... amazing..._

They joined together in the middle.

"Aoi... you look... wow..."

He blushed.

"You as well."

She offered him her arm.

"Shall we?"

"We shall."

They stopped before the large doors.

_Behind those doors... are more than five hundred people waiting to judge me..._

Aoi looked to his left, only to see Tomo already staring at him.

He flushed.

"What?"

"You're just so nervous. Calm down. They'll love you."

Hearing this from Tomo reassured Aoi a lot.

They listened to Mrs. Saito informing the guests.

"The reason Tomo has been absent, is because he is with someone right now. And I want you to all introduce you to this person. So with out further adieu, I present to you, Tomo Saito and his fiancee Aoi Hyoudou!"

Aoi began to walk forward, but was pulled back by her arrm.

_Tomo..._

"What?'

"Just wait a second."

She grabbed a lock of fake curls that had abandoned the rest and fixed it.

She smiled at him.

"Now let's blow the socks off of these people.

The minute the announcement was made, the hall filled with shock and disappointment.

It did shock everyone, considering that they were not expecting this. But a lot of girls were depressed. They no longer had a chance with the Saito heir.

Although this was considered a lot of emotion flowing through a room, that did nothing to amount to the emotion when the couple stepped out.

They looked extraordinary.

Everyone in the hall was jealous of the two with their natural looks. The clothes just accented their natural beauty and used it to their advantage.

They boys were oogling Aoi and the girls, Tomo.

Aoi was wearing a blood red dress with some black to line it. He wore a corset that showed off thinness that most girls could only dream of achieving.

He had his head held high and a stiff posture.

Since he had worn things like this before, it was barely a change.

Even though they thought he was a girl and he wasn't. He was not going to let it get to him. He refused to stoop to that level as to be so self conscience.

And then there was Tomo. Even unconsciously, she was making the girls drool.

She was in a black tuxedo with red lining and a red tie. They had her hair left alone, as it was always the ladies' favourite that way.

Even though she didn't try, she brought people to their knees.

Tomo was grinning at them all, while Aoi just stared and smiled nervously.

They slowly descended the stairs, careful not to trip and make fools of one another.

Aoi heard some whispering in his ear.

"Just smile and wave."

He immediately did what she said and put on a huge grin.

When they reached the bottom of the steps, they were bombarded with questions.

"Where'd you two meet?"

"How long have you known each other?"

"Why'd you choose her?"

Tomo raised her hand.

"Wow, wow, wow. One question at a time please. I'm afraid that even I sometimes need people to slow down so that I can understand them."

The girls blushed again.

_I don't blame them. Tomo is an expert in manipulation, whether he wants to admit or not._

"How do you know each other?"

Aoi went pale.

"Well, I was in town for business, you see. I got a little lost and tried to rush back to my limousine with my mother in it."

_Wait... this isn't the story..._

"Then I ran into Aoi and she fell over. Naturally, I knew that I had to apologize to her in some way. So, I invited her over for dinner. When my mother met her, she absolutely loved her. Thus, the engagement was born."

_He made up a fake story so I wouldn't feel embarrassed..._

_He lied to all these people...for me..._

_I am once again in the debt of Tomo Saito._

_I haven't even repaid him yet..._


	12. Chapter 12

Through out the night, the two had eventually been separated. They were both in their own conversations.

While Tomo looked completely engrossed in her conversation, Aoi still felt a little awkward.

_I feel like I don't belong here... Everyone else is just so classy and elegant. For once, I feel like I shouldn't be wearing a dress. _

_I should just be hanging out with normal friends in a normal park or something._

_All though I don't really have any friends..._

Aoi was too deep in his thoughts that he didn't notice a small girl about his age come around from behind him and loop her arm in his.

The girl turned to the others in the group.

"I hope you don't mind. I'll just be talking to Aoi-chan, here. Since we are both two girls, very close to Tomo, it would be good to make friends with one another, you know."

She laughed an annoyingly obvious fake laugh and tugged him by the arm violently. It was hard enough to hurt, but still subtle, so no one would notice.

She pulled him away from the hall and dragged him down a few halls.

When they were far enough away from the hall, the girl turned around and slammed Aoi into a wall.

"Who do you think you are!? I have been practically engaged to Tomo already since I was three! And then you just waltz in here and try to seduce him like the slut you are!

Well let me just tell you this. Tomo is mine. I want you to leave this place and never come back."

"What if I don't?"

"Then I'll kill you myself. I know that Tomo is in love with me and just too shy to admit it. But you stay away from him. You are getting his mind all jumbled up and you're forcing yourself on him! You are going to completely mess him up! He's too fragile for that!"

"Why do you even like him so much?"

Aoi felt his head whip to the side, his cheek sudden stinging.

"You bitch! Don't you dare say anything like that ever again! You can't expect me to not like him. He's perfect! And only mine, so you can back off!"

"Why are you so sure he likes you?"

"Of course he does!" She said it like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"He loves me and is just too afraid to admit it. So once you leave, I can finally encourage him to finally speak from his heart and confess his love for me."

She had started to stare off into space, imagining Tomo confessing in front of all the people in the dining hall.

_What is up with this girl?_

He snorted.

She snapped her attention back to the person she had restrained against a wall.

"_What's so funny?_" she seethed.

_She is nothing like what I saw in the bugging room..._

"At least you can't say that you know he loves you. Cause you know he doesn't."

Aoi felt like he was taking a shot to the chest.

She noticed this and smiled evilly.

"It hurts, doesn't it? Reality is harsh. I sometimes feel that way when he just brushes me off. But I know that he is probably busy with work and embarrassed.

You know how that feels right? When your lover is embarrassed to do really anything with you because they are so in love."

_Tomo's never like that with me... he always seems at ease with me..._

"Oh wait! That's right! You don't know how it feels. Because you don't have a lover. And you never will.

It's just time for you face the truth. Nobody ever falls in love with sluts like you."

With that, she smirked and began to walk away. But just before she had left the room, she hollered back over her shoulder.

"Remember! I am Kokoa Aichi, and Tomo is mine!"

Aoi took in all that she said. Just minutes ago, she was being snarly with the girl, and know, she was more self concious than ever.

_Is what she said true? Am I destined to be forever alone? _

_Is it because of my transgender habits, or is it just me?_

_Am I really that bad to be around?_

Aoi could feel his eyes, getting heavier, filling up with tears of tarnished dreams, that were sure to fall soon.

_As a kid, I had always dreamed about growing up and spending the rest of my life with the one I loved. _

_I didn't really picture what gender they were going to be, but I didn't really care for specifics. All I knew was that was how I wanted to live my life. But know that I think about it, was that too much to ask for?_

Aoi sunk down to the floor, warm liquid flowing down his cheeks and landing on his dress.

_I know some people spend their whole lives alone, but would I be able to do that?_

A million thoughts were whizzing through Aoi's brain. As soon as one was gone, another negative one would take it's place.

He just sat that and cried. He wasn't sure how long he spent there, but at the moment, he couldn't find the will to care.

He was just trying to get himself up off the ground when he her the clicking of shoes rushing towards him.

He felt a hand on his elbow and another on his back, trying to assist him.

"Aoi! What were you doing in here? I was so worried! The party continued, but I couldn't help, but try to look for you. Eventually I had enough though and abandoned the party in search of you.

But why are you here? Did you get lost?"

No response.

She tried tilting his chin up. "Hey Aoi, what's wr-"

She stopped when she saw the tears tracks down his face.

"Aoi?" She looked very worried at this point. "What's wrong?"

_I... I can't do it anymore..._

Aoi collapsed into Tomo's arms and began to ball.

Tomo was shocked, but still attempted to sooth him.

She whispered things into his ears and stroked his back.

"Don't worry, everything is going to be alright. I'm here to protect you now. Now that you've come into my life, I don't ever want to let you go."

Aoi paused and up at Tomo. Even though she was quite small, she was still taller than him.

"Do you mean it?"

"Of course I do. Even though we basically just met, you are one of the closest people to me right now. And I do everything to protect those I care about.

And just think about it, if our bond is already this strong in this short period of time, imagine how much stronger it will get in time to come!"

Through the tears, Aoi smiled.

Tomo held him at arms distance apart. She tsked.

"Now this won't do."

She wiped her hand across his face, diminishing any proof that he had ever been crying.

"Come on, you're just in time for dinner."

When they reached the dining hall, Aoi realized that everyone was already there.

As they entered the hall, everyone directed their attention towards the two.

Tomo took control of the situation and made an excuse for them both.

She put on one of her best smiles.

"Sorry for our leave of absence. I'm afraid Aoi is quite shy and not used to large crowds. Please do try to make her feel welcome ladies."

A bunch of women and children nodded and murmured in agreement, completely memorized by her smile.

They took their seats beside each other on the end of the table.

Aoi tried to listen to the rapid conversations around him, but failed miserably.

A young woman sitting next to Aoi noticed this and tried to involve him in her own conversation.

"I'd recommend not even bothering to try to keep up. If you notice, we are currently on the womens' side of the table." She motioned around the table, indicating that she was in fact, correct.

"The women love their talking. Their conversations are so rapid that if you are not used to it, you are left behind, unable to translate a single word."

"But why are both of us on the female side?" He motioned to Tomo and himself.

"Well, it is natural to keep the engaged couple together at these kind of celebrations. Not to mention that it is an agreement everyone made long ago.

Everyone is always fighting over who gets to talk to Saito and who gets to sit beside him at meals. So, it is know known that whenever we are having any type of gatherings, Saito sits with the women at meals and then can converse with the men afterwards."

"Is Tomo really that popular?"

"Yes. The ladies love him for his charm and good looks, whereas the men admire him for his business skills. Everyone loves the Saito heir."

"Wow. I knew he was wanted, but this is..."

"Yes, I know. Everyone is just drawn to him. It's like he has this weird thing going for him. You just can't help, but want to be around him."

_Tomo... you never fail to continuously amaze me..._


	13. Chapter 13

As the night continued on, the events seemed to be almost repetitive and non-changing.

Everyone was in their own respective groups.

There was the gossip ladies, business men, children and many other groups. Aoi had been dragged into the gossip ladies' group.

Aoi took the previous women's advice and didn't try to keep up. He was too worried of his mind being fried from the non-stop forever stimulating conversations. They didn't ever seem to run out of things to talk about.

Instead of joining in, Aoi was observing the rest of the room.

He liked to watch the group that Tomo was in. She was talking business with a few other men while a few females sat by listening to the advanced dialogue that they no doubt, did not understand.

The girls were hanging on to Tomo's every word, still surprised at how sophisticated Tomo was.

She was in control of the conversation, directing the subject towards those of interest to her.

The girls looked so clueless and focused at the same time, that it was almost humourous.

Aoi had to casual lean on his hands, in means of hiding his smiling mouth.

He flicked his vision away from the group, already bored with the simple minded women.

In the corner of his eye, he caught something that he soon returned looking at it.

It was Kokoa Aichi.

She had her sights trained on Aoi and was glaring at him fiercely.

_Guess who's not happy!_

_I guess she wasn't too happy that I didn't listen to her and leave. She really is quite protective of "her" Tomo._

_I truly believe that she needs a therapist. Her mind is not right._

"Hyoudou?"

He quickly glanced back towards the women in front of him.

"Oh, uh... yes?"

"We were just wondering how you feel about this whole ordeal."

"What do you mean?"

"How do you feel about the engagement and everything?"

Aoi blushed a fiery red.

_Oh... so that's what they meant..._

"Oh, well... I mean I-"

They giggled.

"Hyoudou, you're blushing."

"What I-I am not!"

"You don't need to be embarrassed Hyoudou. Just tell about your feelings."

"Well... I suppose I am definitely lucky to have run into Tomo when I did."

"Oh, of course! Any girl would die to be in your place! A lot of girls your age really wanted to marry Saito.

Some girls look up to you, while most will detest you. And I don't think this will go away any time soon."

Aoi just nodded awkwardly.

"Anyways, what are your feelings for Tomo, specifically?"

All of the people in hearing distance leaned closer, not wanting to miss his answer.

"Well, um..."

_This blush just won't go away!_

"I think he's very sweet and definitely funny. I also agree that his business skills are undeniable."

Then once again, the girls went back to their own conversation, ignoring Aoi.

He sighed and leaned back in his chair.

_This is so boring. How am I supposed to keep myself entertained?_

"Aoi."

A voice brought him out of his thoughts.

He turned to identify the speaker.

.

"Aoi, sweetie. Please come with me."

Aoi was pulled out of the room.

"Aoi, are you ready to dance?"

"What!?"

"I said, are you ready to dance? Now that dinner's over, quite a few people are getting bored," _People getting bored? That would be _me. "so I thought it would be great to start up the dancing again."

"And since you're one of the guests of honour, you and Tomo have to share the first dance."

Aoi was hesitant, but eventually agreed.

Mrs. Saito squealed in delight.

"Perfect! Now just follow me."

He was led back into the room, left standing awkwardly by the older women.

"Hello everyone! I would just like to inform you that we will soon resume dancing. So, if you could all just follow me into the ballroom."

Aoi didn't know what to do, so he just followed Mrs. Saito close behind.

Immediately after everyone had arrived, some classical music was already flowing through the now full hall.

Aoi watched as Tomo approached him, bent down and kissed his hand,

"Could I ask for this dance, milady?"

"Oh, um, yes."

Tomo led Aoi into the middle of the hall, where so far no one was.

_Oh my god... that smile just... it gets me every time._

They got in position.

"You ready?" she asked.

"I think so."

And they began to waltz around the floor.

_Everyone's staring... I'm so nervous._

_I'm so glad no one else is on the floor yet. That way I don't have to worry about bumping in to people._

Tomo saw that Aoi was nervous and smiled at him.

"Don't worry, you're doing fine."

Aoi smiled back and tried to forget that anyone else was there.

"Don't worry about them. Just listen to what they're saying."

Aoi focused on the people, trying to catch hold of what they were saying.

He blushed when he heard some of their comments.

"_Wow, don't they just look so cute together?"_

"_Young love, I say."_

"_They're perfect for each other!"_

"See? They love you."

Just hearing that reminded Aoi of his previous conversation with Aichi.

"What's wrong. Is it the same thing from before?"

Aoi looked back to Tomo. Her eyebrows were furrowed.

"You know that you can tell me anything."

"It's just- something that this girl said to me before."

Tomo's face darkened.

"Was her name Aichi?"

"Y-Yes."

"Forget about anything she told you. I'll deal with her later."

"You mean it?"

"Of course."

Right in the middle of the hall, Aoi stopped dancing and jumped at Tomo in a hug.

She immediately return the hug and they forgot about all the people around them.

"_Aaaawwwww! They're so cute!"_

"_Just look at them! I've never seen the Saito heir so happy!"_

"_This is true love."_

When they broke apart, they both had big grins on their faces.

"Don't worry about anything Aoi. I will always protect you."

Aoi nodded in gratitude.

"Now I'm sorry, but I must leave. I have some business to deal with."

They both left the floor, where now many people were dancing.

Aoi watched as Tomo approached the same girl he had been talking to before.

"Aichi."

"Oh, Tomo! Have you come over to ask me for a dance?"

She didn't seem to notice the stern expression on her face.

"I'm afraid not. Aichi, I have just gotten word that you said some things to my fiance."

She sent a dirty look over to Aoi.

"Don't listen to anything she tells you! She's a liar. You can't let yourself be influenced by someone, so manipulative, Tomo!"

"Don't lie to me Aichi. I know that you said some rather nasty things."

"But I didn't Tomo, dear! That witch is lying!"

Tomo slapped her. She held her face in shock.

By know the whole hall was watching them, shocked that the Saito heir could be so scary.

"Stop being such a child! You dare to threaten my fiance and then lie about it!? I'm sorry, but I don't have time to deal with children.

And don't you _dare_ say anything rude about Aoi to my face ever again."

The crowd watched as Tomo stormed away and not even seconds later, the young girl run out of the room in tears.

The whispers soon started after that.

"_Did you see that?"_

"_Of course I did!"_

"_The boy must really care for that girl."_

"_I can't believe that she would say something like that to him!"_

Tomo returned to Aoi's said and turned to her mother.

"Mother, Aoi and I will be taking our leave of absence now."

And with that, they left the room, heading for Tomo's bedroom.

"Y-You didn't have to do that."

"It was necessary. If I didn't, she would have continued to pester you."

"Yeah, but-"

"Just forget about it, okay? I had to tell her I wasn't interested in her some time. I shouldn't have put it off for so long.

It's my fault this happened. It I had told her my feelings sooner, then she wouldn't have come to you.

I'm sorry about all of this."

"No, don't say that. I doubt she would've listened to you anyways. I don't think she would give you up that easily.

She really loves you, you know."

They paused outside of the door.

"I know. And that is why I must try to push her away even harder."

She swung open the door and sat on the edge of the bed grimly.

Aoi was very confused.

"What do you mean? Why is it so wrong for someone to fall in love with you?"

"I already know I am going down, hard. I don't want to take anyone down with me."

"What does that mean? You know you are going down?"

"I know that one of these days, the worst is going to happen. I am going to be stuck in my mind forever. That is, unless I can find something that is the key to helping me out.

But if anyone falls in love with me before that, that would be a big blow to their mental sanity. Some people can only take so much."

"You mean like what you were talking about earlier?"

"Yes. I know this is going to happen some time and I'm trying to delay it for as long as I can. I'm still looking for my key.

If I can find it... I could stop all of this from happening."

"What happening?"

"Me becoming practically a vegetable. I wouldn't be able to do anything, I would just be stuck inside my head."

"What if the person really loves you?"

"Then it will be the hardest for them. Not only will they have to face the fact that I'm not coming back, but they will have to witness me."

"What does that mean."

"As I said, it's almost like I become a different person. But it's still me. It's just the me I hide down deep inside.

The one filled with hatred, the one who was pressured into being the perfect heir, the one who harbours jealousy towards all the people living normal, nice lives.

Everyone has this 'other them' inside, they just don't let them show. But sometimes, I get really depressed and turn into a disgusting me that I'd rather no one would see."

_We all have one inside... what is mine like?_

"Trust me, you don't want to know."

"Know what?"

"What you are like on the inside."

_What? How-_

"My eyes, your facial expression, remember?"

_That's still really amazing._

"I know you keep saying this, but what do you mean when you say you're looking for 'the key'? What is it?"

"Oh, the key? I'm looking for the key to happiness."


	14. Chapter 14

"The key... to happiness?"

"Yes. Everyone has one. It's that special thing that makes life worth living."

_I wonder what Tomo's is..._

"Tomo, what's your key to happiness?"

Tomo smiled sadly at him.

"I haven't found mine yet. That's why I'm looking for it."

Aoi frowned.

"If you don't have your key to happiness, then why do you continue living? I mean-I'm not encouraging suicide, but..."

"Well I'm not going to give up before I've found it! Everyone has to look for theirs, but some just aren't patient enough. But why would I kill myself before I've found out what I'm _living _for?"

_Did Tomo always think this deep and psychological?_

_I... I want a reason to live too!_

"I also want to find my key!"

Tomo gave him a big grin.

"Who wouldn't want to happy?" she questioned.

"Then lets look for our keys together!"

Tomo was taken aback.

"You want to stay with me for that long? You do realize that your key's not just gonna pop out of nowhere. This could take years."

"Of course I know that. If finding happiness was that easy, there would be no such thing as suicide. I just know that I won't want to continue living without a purpose."

Tomo stood up from her bed.

"Then let's make a promise!"

"A promise?"

"Yeah, that we'll stay by each other until we've both found our keys."

"Okay."

Tomo suddenly remembered something and motioned for Aoi to wait for a minute.

In her hands, she held out a tiny box.

"What is it?"

"Find out for yourself."

Aoi took the box from Tomo and opened it.

Inside was a silver necklace with a blue sapphire in the middle.

"This will be a promise necklace. As long as you are in possession of this, then our promise shall remain intact."

Aoi delicately placed the piece of jewelry around his neck.

"Then I will wear it with dignity."

The next day, Aoi decided to go back to Maid Latte and apologize to Misaki.

As soon as he opened the door, he was smothered in a hug by Satsuki.

"Aoi! You're back! I was getting so worried. Misaki said you left and you were upset. Then you never came back! I haven't even been getting any responses to my emails I sent your dad!"

Aoi laughed nervously, scratching behind his head awkwardly.

"Yeah... we've been a bit busy lately."

Satsuki gripped his arm and tugged him along with her.

"Come on, closing time is soon and I'm sure the others would like to hear what you've been up to too."

He was pulled into the 'Employee's Only' area where all the other workers were.

Everyone stood up at Aoi's sudden appearance.

Misaki came to greet him instantly, where as the others looked cautious about whether to approach him or not.

"Aoi! You're all right now, aren't you?"

He shrugged her off.

"Yes, yes, of course I am."

"So come on Aoi, tell us what you've been doing lately." Satsuki encouraged.

Aoi flushed at the attention.

"Well..."

_I'm not really sure how I should go about this._

"Um, I..."

"Come on! You know you can tell us anything!"

_How rude! Interrupting me while I'm speaking!_

_Fine! If they want to hear it sooner than later, then that's exactly what I'll give them._

"Well, a lots happened, but to sum everything up, some things went down and now I'm engaged."

He waited a minute for that to sink in.

"What!?" chorused around the room.

_Ah, there's the confusion._

_Satsuki looks as it she's about to have a seizure._

"Aoi! You can't just... you need your parents permission-"

"I already have that. In fact, they were the ones who were pushing for it in the first place."

Satsuki was breathing very heavily.

"But-you can't..."

The other workers were attempting to calm her down.

"Calm down Satsuki!"

"It's alright, just breath. That's it, deep breaths."

After Satsuki had become calm once again, Aoi tried explaining it to them.

"After I left here that day," _Don't tell them about the alley, just use the story that Tomo made up. _"I ran into a boy my age. We happened to get along, so he took me back to his house. It turns out that he's actually really rich. His mother took a liking to me also, so we called up my parents.

The next day, I returned with my parents and then they starting making an engagement deal."

"But Aoi, are you sure you're okay with this?" Satsuki asked concernedly.

"Yeah, he's actually really cool. My parents are also encouraging me to cross dress too!"

"But Aoi... do they know of your..."

_Right... telling them this brings up this problem._

"This is kind of a secret, but he's a crossdresser too."

They gasped in surprise.

"You're both crossdressers?"

"Yeah, that was the main reason why we are engaged.

Since he is rich and everything, that means he needs t marry someone to continue on the line of there family." _There is no way I could've not blushed while saying that. _

"If it was a boy, like his preferences, then their family would be shunned, considering that no one included in high circles agrees with that sexuality. And if it were a girl, he would be unhappy and the girl would have to accept him.

Not to mention that if they told the family and they no longer wanted to agree to their terms, their secret could potentially be exposed. So I was the obvious choice."

"Wow..."

The employees were shocked.

"You've sure done a lot while you were gone Aoi..."

"Where are you going Takumi?"

Everyone directed their attention to Takumi who was just about to reach for the door.

"My father would like me to meet with a supposed business prodigy. He is a boy a few years younger than me. Since we are close ages, my father wishes for me to discuss business with him. The meeting takes place soon."

"Why would your dad want you to do business stuff? I thought you said you were no good at that subject."

He sighed. "I'm not. He probably just wants me to take after him and so I can take over the family businesses. He thinks that I'll start taking after the boy and become a business genius too."

"That's harsh."

"I wonder how good that kid is. Years younger than Takumi and Misaki, but still amazing at business. I want to meet him."

"Yeah, me too."

"Me too!"

Takumi sighed.

"I suppose you can all come along to see him."

A few cheers were heard from around the room.

They all followed behind Takumi, eagerly waiting to see this miracle boy.

They followed him into a high class restaurant.

"You could all come in if want."

The employees nodded quickly.

As soon as they entered, they were shocked at the high class place.

A few words were exchanged between the workers. They were in awe at such a place.

Takumi walked up to the man behind the table that looked like a pedestal.

_I can't hear them, but I can guess they are discussing regestrations._

The man stepped away from his table and Takumi motioned for them to tag along.

They were led to an exclusive section of the restaurant.

"We're meeting here because it's usually quieter than rest of the restaurant"

They were showed to a large table with a single boy sitting there.

"Ah, I see you have brought friends. I guess it is good that I made reservations for such a big table."

"He's so cute!" Someone whispered.

_I can't see his face... There are too many people._

One by one, they all introduced their selves to the boy and took a seat.

When it was Aoi's turn, he froze.

"Tomo?"

The person snapped their head up.

"Aoi?"

_Tomo is the one Takumi was talking about?_

The rest of the group was confused.

"Wait... you two know each other?"

Aoi blushed.

"Yeah, he's the one I was telling you about."

They were shocked.

"Your engaged to Saito?"

"Uh... yes?"

It was silent.

_It's like I could reach out and feel the tension._

Tomo laughed and sat down, helping Aoi too.

"Well isn't this just a big coincidence. I never thought that I would see you here Aoi."

"Yeah, I guess it's a shock for me too."

Misaki butted in.

"Wait, wait... so you're actually a girl?" She dropped her tone on the last part.

"Yes, I originally was a girl. Not any more though."

They were shocked.

"What... but... you're so..."

"Yes, I know. I do have that 'boyish charm'. I was lucky to already have an androgynous face, but everything else came naturally. It feels as if I was never a girl. To change genders, I didn't really have to do anything. I was already born like this."

"But still... that's amazing... I couldn't even tell."

She smiled. "That is what I aim for."

Even though they now realized her true gender, the sight of her smile still made them blush.

Takumi noticed the slight drop in conversation and turned his attention back towards the person he was originally supposed to meet.

"So, I heard you were asked to teach me some useful types."

"Yes, but I'm afraid that I am not that good of a teacher." She rubbed the back of her neck nervously, her cheeks darkening at the light tinge of blush.

_Even while looking nervous, he makes me want to blush..._

_His blushing is contagious..._

_So I guess it's official. No matter what situation, Tomo Saito _never _looks bad._


	15. Chapter 15

"So how about you girls just have your own conversation so that we can finish our business plans.|

"Sure."

As soon as the large group split into two separate conversations, all the girls turned to Aoi.

"You are engaged to _him_?"

"Yes, I've already said that."

"Why didn't you tell us how cute he was?"

"Yeah!"

"And he's super smart too! Look at that!"

They 'discreetly' glanced towards the boys to take a peek at their discussion.

Tomo was going into detail, explaining something very thoroughly to Takumi, who just sat there, mouth slightly open in awe.

Tomo was completely straight faced and serious the whole time.

The girls giggled and turned back.

"How old is he? He looks so mature!"

"Even Takumi is surprised!"

Aoi zoned out, thinking about all the better things he could have been doing at that moment.

_I could've went shopping for some new dresses... _

_I could've made a new video... _

_Had another photo shoot..._

_Gotten a new haircut... I am in desperate need of a new style..._

"We have got to hook Saito and Aoi up together!"

That was the line that brought Aoi out of his daze like state.

"What!?"

The two looked over in alarm.

"Are you girls alright?"

They waved them off.

"Yes, yes, don't worry about us."

They spun back around to him.

"Shhhhh! You trying to announce it to the world!?"

"But-you..."

"Yes we are going to set you two up together."

"What... but you can't!"

"Why not?"

"Well because... we're already getting married so there's nothing for you to do!"

They laughed.

"Oh Aoi, how naive. That's an arranged married, that doesn't count. We want you to be a real couple."

He blushed a bright scarlet.

"What, bu-"

"No buts, we can already see how much you like him, Aoi. Look at that blush!"

But that just intensified the heat of his cheeks.

"Oh, shut up."

Later on, they were just leaving the restaurant when Tomo's cellphone rung. She held up one finger, showing that she would be back in a minute.

Aoi was worried, as the call got longer and longer, the look on Tomo's face kept sinking. Tomo was looking around her in random places until she seemed to have spotted what she was looking for.

She swiftly put her phone into her back pocket and rejoined with the group.

"Well, it's been a great honour meeting you all, but I'm afraid I must leave now. And Aoi,"

"Uh, yeah?"

"You're going to need to come with me."

She grabbed his hand and began to pull away from the group.

She turned to look back at the group once more.

"I hope to see you all again soon!"

And with that, they were both dashing for an unknown destination.

Aoi was extremely confused. "What's going on Tomo? And why do you need me?"

"There's no time to explain. Come on, we need to hurry up. The limo will be arriving soon."

They sprinted around a corner, narrowly avoiding a street vender.

They eventually came to a stop outside a local art theater. Just across the street, there was a limo waiting for them.

They ran across the deserted road and hopped into the limo. Not five seconds after they had gotten in to it did the automobile speed off.

"Now are you ready to tell me what's going on here?" They were breathing heavily from all the running and Aoi had to wheeze to get the words out.

"We've got a business rival that takes drastic measures when dealing with any competition."

"What does that mean!?"

"Our biggest rival is out to get me. We both are working with large amounts of companies and businesses, not to mention that we both hold a lot of stocks.

The man works with the Bunders company. For years he's been tracking me down, trying to recruit me and betray my family. Since he knows that I'm the biggest threat, he understands that he's got no hope in beating me. So, he's trying to get me join up with him.

His favourite saying is, "Thwart the tree at it's stump.". He thinks that if I turn my back on my family, that everything relating the Saito fmaily will crumble."

"So why are you running?"

"This man means business. If he wants something, he gets it.

When he approached me with his first deal and I refused him, he was quite upset. Every since his first attempt, he's stopped at nothing to get me. He even went so far as to try to adopt me!"

She shook her head, as if utterly dumbfounded at how anyone could even think that would work.

"So you try to avoid him because you're annoyed with his constant nagging?"

Tomo's face turned hard.

"No. His recent advances have been much worse."

Aoi, still shaken up at the look on Tomo's face, found the guts to ask one more question.

"What is he trying now?"

Tomo turned to look directly at Aoi.

"He's trying to kidnap me."

Aoi gasped at the revealation.

"But, that's illegal!"

"Yes, and he knows that, but-"

Tomo was interrupted when they were jerked forward.

They spun around to see a black van trying to bumper them.

"Is that him?"

"Yeah, it's his goons. The only reason I noticed them in the first place was because my father phoned me, saying that he had been doing business in town too and had just seen the guy's lackeys setting up.

He saw the Bunders company logo on their clothes and that they were getting into a black van. He instantly knew what was going on and called me.

During the call, I was looking around and happened to spot them."

Aoi still wasn't fully sure of all the details.

"But wait, why did you get me to come with you?"

"It's common knowledge that you are now my fiancee. If I had left you there, they would have recognized you instantly and kept you as hostage and used you against me. They know I would've traded myself for you."

Aoi blushed. "Yeah, uh... thanks."

"Don't worry about it. We've got bigger problems now."

A second after Tomo had finished talking, they had once again been rear-ended.

"Ugh! Can't he just give it up already!"

"Wait, but if he kidnapped you, what would make you do what he says? Couldn't you just call the cops?"

"Think about it Aoi, if he kidnapped me, he would find out my true gender and use that to make me do whatever he wants.

He knows I wouldn't let my family be shunned for lying to everyone. He would use that hold over me and make me help him gain custody over me. Then I would be adopted by him and he would have full control over me.

And we can't just call the police. Right now, we don't have any evidence. And if it was while he has possession over me, there's no guarantee that he wouldn't know about my condition before they've arrived."

"Oh. Why does everything always have to be so complicated with you?"

She smirked at him. "Welcome to the life on the high end of town."

"I think I underst-"

Once again, they were thrown forward.

This time, Tomo went flying and smacked into the soundproof glass that separated the driver from the passengers.

Tomo hit her head off the screen and fell back onto the floor infront of Aoi.

"TOMO!" He screamed, rushing towards the limp body.

"No, no, no, no, no, no. This can not be happening." He began to hyperventilate.

"Calm down Aoi." He said to himself, trying to maintain his calmness.

He sat down beside her and placed her head on his lap.

He brushed his hands through her hair, trying to soothe himself. He quickly stopped when he felt his hands becoming wet.

He immediately removing his hands to see thick, bright, liquid coating them.

He started to panic again. "No, this is not happening. No."

"Dammit!" He pounded his fist on one of the doors. "I don't know what to do! I'm not experienced in anything medical wise!"

He quickly glanced out the window to see that they were pulling into the gates of the Saito grounds.

He could just see the men in the van driving away with angry looks of failure.

_I don't doubt that they are clueless about Tomo's condition and will probably try again soon._

As soon as they stopped in the large driveway, the driver rushed around the front of the limo to open the door for them.

But as soon as he did, he was shocked. There in the backseat of his limo, was his young master, unconscious and covered in blood.

Next to him was his betrothed, Lady Hyoudou. She was clutching him close to her chest, crying and murmuring reassuring words to no one other than herself.

He was horrified. Not only was his master seriously injured, but he could be fired and blamed for this.

Misses and Mister Saito hurried towards the limousine, but stopped in their tracks when they spotted what was inside.

Mrs. Saito let out a shriek and ran for her daughter.

"TOMO! Tomo! No! Please, not Tomo!"

She too wrapped her arms around her and cried with Aoi.

Mr. Saito however struggled to maintain his posture, but still succeeded.

With a pale face he walked towards his butler.

"Franklin, do get the nurse."

"Right away sir."

"Is he going to be okay?" Aoi whispered.

"Yes, it was just a concussion. Because of the collision though, the whole seen was very bloody and that made it look worse than it actually was."

The nurse was packing up her things, placing everything back into her bag.

At the door, the Mrs. Saito shook the nurse's hand.

"Thank you so much."

"It's my job Ma'am. Just make sure that he is bedridden for the next few days and has lots of fruits, preferably with some acidic juices in them.

If their is any other problems or something unusual, just send someone to my quarters."

With one last thank you, the nurse was dismissed.

"You're nurse has her own quarters?"

"Yes. The nearest hospital is quiet some distance from us. It's easier to have an in house nurse. That way, we get immediate services."

"I suppose that makes sense."

And it was silent once again.

Aoi shifted in his chair. It wasn't that it was uncomfortable, just the location of it.

He was seated next to Tomo's bed, holding her hand. Unfortunately, if he wanted to hold her hand, he had to sit really close to the bed.

She was placed in the middle of the large bed and to reach her, it was necessary to place his chair that close.

He stood up and reached for Tomo. He pushed some of her hair off her forhead.

_Oh, Tomo..._


	16. Chapter 16

Tomo's POV

Uhhh...

Why is everything so... bright?

I don't want to get up. Not yet at least.

Yeah, that seems like a good idea. I'll just roll over and get some more sleep...

OW!

What the heck! My hand flies to the back of my head, sensing the pain immediately.

What the... oh, right. I suddenly remember everything.

The men were chasing us in their van... we quickly stopped and I went flying...

I probably just banged my head a bit.

It's a good thing I'm at home now... the soft feel of my bed sheets, it's just so relaxing.

I'm glad we got away.

Wait... we?

_Aoi!_

I fling myself up in my bed, now completely awake.

I got away, but what about Aoi? Was she captured? What would they do with her?

Blackmail us obviously. But how would they treat her? Is she fine? Or did she get hurt too?

I've got to find her. _Now._

I stumble off my bed, just barely regaining my balance and standing up right.

I take a large breath in and exhale. It's fine Tomo, you can do this. Aoi's more important. You've got to make sure she's alright. She's your first priority.

I let go of the bed post and widen my stance. Maybe this will help me balance better.

I slowly shuffle towards the door, taking my time. I need to find her fast, but hurting myself won't help me find her any faster.

This sucks. I feel so utterly helpless. Aoi could be getting treated like a minion right now, and I'm just lounging around in my bedroom.

Even these small steps are making me dizzy... Maybe I should just stop for a while...

_NO!_

I shake my head. I can't afford to waste any more time.

Aoi's counting on me.

If I can't do this, how do I expect to keep her safe from anything else?

At my doorway, I take a short break before finally swinging open the doors.

Now to find her.

Aoi's POV

I was just eating my lunch when I hear some yelling.

I stand up abruptly, no longer wanting to finish my meal.

I rush forward towards the sounds, eager to know exactly what was happening and why it deserved such a reaction.

I finally arrive at the location of all the adults.

My mother was heaving in and out and from the look of the open passage, she had just come from the bugging room.

She tried to get words out in between her breaths.

"T-Tomo..."

"Yes, yes, what about him?" Mrs. Saito urged, clearly worried for her son.

"He's g-gone..."

Just those words ensued mayhem. The reaction was instantaneous.

Everyone rushed in different directions. We were all going to the same direction, but were not thinking clearly because of the problem at hand.

Was he kidnapped? No... the men already left...

Then where was he?

We all eventually met up in the great hall where the ball was held.

We didn't spare each other a glance before sprinting up the stairs.

The males were last, simply because of their courtesy to 'ladies first'. Mrs. Saito was in front of my mom, probably because she was one of the most worried. But, I was pulling ahead of her. The reason for this being that I was younger and more in shape and that she was wearing a heavier dress.

I preferred my dresses to be lighter, just so that they're more durable.

After we had reach the top of that set of stairs, we all gasped. There was Tomo on the bottom of the stairs you would need to climb to reach the tower to his room.

He was on his knees, gripping the hand rail as if it was life or death. He was leaning against the wall, his blood covered head wrapping showing that he was in no shape to be moving around.

His mother ran forward.

"Oh, my poor baby!"

She knelt on the ground beside him, before pulling him into her chest.

At first it looked like he was reluctant to let go of the railing, but he eventually responded to her touch and let go.

"Mom..." He breathed out. By the tone in his voice, it was obvious he was in pain.

She let out a sob and pulled him even closer.

"My baby... what were you doing out of bed?" Her voice sounded strained, as if she was sharing his pain.

"Aoi... where is she? I'm fine but where is- Aoi" He grunted before saying the last word.

Though the rest of us were previously frozen, we started moving after Tomo had said his piece.

Four curious faces turned to look at me.

I blushed and tried not to look at anyone except for Tomo. But I was quickly shaken out of my stare at Tomo who was still facing the ground. It was evident that it was had for him to lift his head.

Mrs. Saito was nodding her head at me, as if calling me over.

I approached cautiously, not fully sure if this was what she had wanted me to do.

When she nodded to confirm my thoughts, I closed the rest of the gap and bent down beside them.

"Tomo?" I said in a soft voice. "It's me, Aoi. See? I'm fine."

For the first time, Tomo lifted his head to look at me.

When he saw me, his face lit up and showed a look of relief.

"I'm so glad your safe."

Tears started to glisten in his eyes, as if he was really happy to see me.

I was shocked at this admission.

_Does Tomo really care for me this much?_

He just stared at me for a few seconds before he pasted out because of the pain.

Approximately 20 miles away...

Currently, the head of the Bunders company was very upset in the recent news of his goons' failure.

"What do I even pay you idiots for!? I give you one simple task, and yet you fail it so easily! This is outrageous!

How hard can it me to kidnap one fourteen year old boy? I'm not asking you to build a rocket ship for NASA! This should be child's play!"

He breathed in and finally let a big gust of air out.

"I _want _that boy. Now you are going to get him for me. Got that?"

The thugs nodded quickly, not wanting to be on the man's bad side or be fired.

"Good. Now I'll give you one more chance. And this time, you _will_ get me that boy."

They nodded and scurried away, not wanting to be left to deal with there boss' fury.

He let out a growl and threw his glass that he was sipping at, at a wall.

He knew that boy would be the key to his success. And he wanted him as soon as possible.

He hadn't married, so he wouldn't have a heir. If he could just get the kid to come to him...

The possibilities were endless. Not only would the boy be the heir he never had, but he could also solve the company's financial problems.

The boy would be the solution to all of his problems. He would gain an upper hand on the other rivalling businesses and would finally establish a name that no one would ever forget.

This kid... if he got him...

He was starting to get excited now.

If the could became loyal to him, he could also grab some dirt on the seemingly faultless Saito family. The wasn't a word against that family- at least, not for long.

He was obsessed with the boy. Everything about him was perfect. He desired this boy like no other.

He was the perfect heir and couldn't wait to claim him.

He needed this boy and he would get him.

For he was Iwao Hamasaki, and he _always_ got what he wanted.


End file.
